Plegia's Strategist
by NumberCDLI
Summary: Unlike most Awakening timelines, this is one where Robin is loyal to Plegia and never struck by amnesia. As such, when war comes to him, he will stand by Gangrel and his nation as Plegia's strategist.
1. Of Different Fates

Robin was rolling a coin through his fingers. He hated waiting. It always made it seem as though time passed by much slower than normal when he was waiting for something, and it infuriated him. Slamming his coin onto his desk, he let out an irritated sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Sunlight seeped into his study from the westside window in the room. A black desk was placed at the far end and the walls were lined with bookcases, each filled to the brim with tomes, encyclopedias, and all sorts of things that would be either found in a royal library or the darkest of dungeons.

Not only was he the son of the Grimleal's High Priest, Validar, and Plegia's Lord Strategist, Robin was also the avatar for the Fell Dragon, Grima. The first two already gave him power over most of Plegia, but the last one granted him a rank that far outstripped the Plegian King, Gangrel.

But for Robin, a seat of power was something that he could care less about. He honestly didn't care about Grima, either. All he cared about right now was the fact that Plegia and Ylisse, their neighboring nation, was on the verge going to war with one another.

 _'And only fifteen years after the previous one…'_ Robin grimaced.

Despite having been only two years old at the time, he still remembered the news of the Exalt's death, heralding the end of the war. As he grew up, he quickly learned that the war had devastated both nations. Any war that lasted for nine years would do that to any nation, no matter how rich they once were. And any war that lasted for nine years would take countless lives, whether they were gutter poor or the king.

In this case, it was both, and the now-king Gangrel was forced to take up the crown at the tender age of nine. Three years later, when Robin was only five and Gangrel having just turned twelve, Robin entered the king's service.

Since then, Plegia had been on the road to reconstruction. With most of the outer villages and towns having been destroyed in the war, most of the people sought refuge in the capital city. There was once a problem of overpopulation, but through Robin's insight and King Gangrel's rule, that was a problem that as resolved by the time Robin was fourteen years old.

New villages and towns were built by any oasis that could be found and roads would be permanently placed on the sands of Plegia with the help of magic, making it easy for caravans to travel to and from the capital. Small poles imbued with magic were placed every quarter of a mile, generating a wind that was strong enough to repel sand while weak enough for travelers to walk past with ease.

As years passed by, Robin had both the trust of the people and the king, and Gangrel had bestowed upon him the rank of his Chief Advisor and Lord Strategist. Despite the age difference of just under a decade, the two were close friends. Many times, Gangrel would tell - no, _order_ Robin to go on vacation, well aware of Robin's position as Grima's avatar. Reluctantly agreeing, Robin would travel to either the outskirts of Plegia to check on the newly formed towns, to Valm, to Ferox and very discreetly, to Ylisse.

Whenever he'd travel to Ylisse, Robin would make sure to dress in the garbs of the Valmese or the Feroxi. He knew full well of the hatred that Ylisseans held against Plegians, so him being there whilst wearing a Plegian's casual clothing would make him stick out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, with his light skin complexion and a bit of illusory magic to make his hair color darker, it was easy for him to pass himself off as someone from Rosanne, Valm, or even from the outskirts of Ferox.

And during his trips to Ylisse, he was able to learn a few things that he would have never learned had he stayed in Plegia. The first was that the people held hatred to the previous exalt for the war. That hatred was passed down to the next exalt, Emmeryn, but through her compassion and patience, the people soon came to love and adore her. And through the occasional glimpse he had of Exalt Emmeryn, he was able to see why.

She, like Robin, did not seem to care much for rank. She would often visit the city in person, wanting nothing more than to merely speak with the people. The children would flock to her as well, and Exalt Emmeryn would spend up to hours playing with the children.

Another thing that Robin learned was that the royal family consisted of two others, both being the younger siblings of the exalt. With Exalt Emmeryn being the eldest child, Prince Chrom was the middle child and Princess Lissa was the youngest. With the information that he'd gathered, he was able to find out that Prince Chrom was the same as him, while Princess Lissa was a year younger than him.

The third thing that he learned was that they were on the road to reconstruction, just like Plegia. The only difference was the Ylisse had nowhere the amount of gold in their vault as Plegia had. On multiple occasions, Robin had sent a messenger to Ylisse in goodwill to offer gold and aid, only to never receive a response. With a little investigation, Robin discovered that the Ylissean border guards had killed his messenger without listening.

The last bit of info that he learned was the image that the Ylisseans had of Gangrel. They called him the Mad King, who was hell-bent on razing Ylisse, which was absolutely absurd. The Gangrel that Robin had befriended and known for many years was nothing like that. Gangrel wanted peace, just like Emmeryn. It was only the people of Ylisse and a small minority of Plegians that wished for bloodshed.

Sighing once more, Robin paced once more around his study. His patience having worn thin, Robin picked up his cloak off his chair and made for the door when he felt air behind him thicken from magic. In less than a second, Robin channeled mana into his arm and spun on his feet to face the intruder.

"Heya, Robin! Why are you about to blast me with lightning? That'd cause me to become a bloody mess!"

Robin sighed, lowering his arm and dispelling his primed spell. "Henry. I was about to go out myself in search of you."

"Nyah ha ha!" Henry laughed. "I had a little run-in with some bad guys! They wanted blood, so I gave them theirs! But they didn't like it, which was strange. I gave them what they asked for, didn't I?"

A small grin formed on Robin's face before quickly vanishing.

"What news do you bring from the border?" Robin asked.

"Nothing new. Ylisseans don't like Gangrel and Plegia, they're still poor, and they don't have much of an army." Henry twiddled with a strand of his white hair. "Bandits have been a lot more commonplace, however. Maybe it's from the lack of an army and money? But yeah, I've found a few villages that were burnt and partly painted with blood! Even made a new friend!"

As if on cue, a crow fluttered through Robin's window and perched itself atop Henry's head.

"Meet Sanguis!" Henry laughed.

"Nice to meet you, Sanguis," Robin smiled. "My name is Robin, a friend of Henry."

Sanguis cawed once and then started pecking Henry's head.

"An increase in bandits… less army members means less patrol… a few Plegians not liking Ylisse…" Robin muttered to himself. Then a startling realization came to him, one that he hoped was wrong. "Henry, these villages that were attacked by bandits…were they on the western borders of Ylisse?"

"Yuppers!" Henry nodded. "How'd you know - wait, it's cause you're Robin. I know already, nya ha ha!"

A small grin formed on Robin's face. "Thank you, Henry."

"No problem! Is there anything else that you want me to do? Find any corpses that I can play around with? Any bandits that need some extermination?"

"That's a 'No' to all three," Robin replied.

Henry's face drooped for a second before his usual liveliness reappeared. With a wave of his hand and a, "See ya later!", Henry vanished into the shadows.

Clicking his tongue, Robin opened his door and quickly made his way across the castle. Some of the servants and maids made an attempt to grab his attention but quickly moved out of the way upon noticing his facial expression. When he turned the last corner to walk into the throne room, someone grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. Without even looking, Robin knew who it was. No one else had such a foul air about him.

"What do you want, Validar?" he growled.

"Now now, is that any way to greet your father?" an eerie voice responded.

"We both know that you could care less of our blood relationship," Robin scoffed. Not bothering to even fully turn his body, Robin merely looked over his shoulder with cold fury in his eyes at his father. "All you ever cared about was my purpose as Grima's vessel."

Validar's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You would dare speak his name so casually and disrespectfully? You should be honored that you're his vessel! You received a blessing that no one ever had!"

"By that logic, shouldn't you be addressing me with respect?" Robin scowled.

With his anger flaring, dark magic started to gather around Robin. The magic seemed to drain the light and heat from the world as the hallway's lighting dimmed and the temperature noticeably dropped.

"And as _Lord_ Grima's avatar..." Robin spat out the word "Lord" in utter disdain. "...I hold absolute authority over all of the Grimleal."

Knowing full well that Validar had nothing left to say, Robin threw off Validar's hold on him and briskly walked towards the throne room.

"And that includes you as well, _High Priest._ "

Leaving Validar alone to his rage, Robin took in a deep breath to calm his own anger as he stood in front of the great doors to the throne room. Once the blood that was once rushing around in his head settled down, he placed his hands on the faces of the smooth doors. Pushing aside the giant slabs of obsidian, Robin stepped inside to meet with his one of his closest friends in Plegia.

"Gangrel! There's something that I want to speak to you about and what…in Grima's balls…are you doing?"

"Oh, Robin!" Gangrel cheerfully grinned. "How can I help you?"

"First off, you can tell me what you're doing hanging from the damned chandelier," Robin bluntly said.

"It's exactly what it looks like. Hanging from my chandelier." Gangrel shrugged.

Robin groaned into his hands. This man, that was currently dressed in a jester's outfit and hanging by his legs from the golden chandelier in the middle of the throne room, was the king of Plegia. And to top it all off, he had a very, _very_ satisfied looking grin on his face, as if climbing up to the chandelier was an accomplishment. In fact, it actually could be seen as an accomplishment as the chandelier was suspended from the ceiling with nothing climbable around it.

"I feel as though I'm going to regret asking this, but…how?" Robin incredulously asked.

"Ah ah ah~" Gangrel wiggled his index finger. "A trickster never gives away his secrets!" The king then laughed, causing the chandelier to sway with him along with it. "But uhh…" Gangrel's face noticeably turned a nauseating shade of green. "I'd appreciate it if you could help me down from here. Preferably, within ten seconds before I hurl all over my floors."

"How much do you care about the chandelier?"

"On a scale of one to ten, with ten being a prized possession? Zero."

"Gotcha."

Robin swiped his hand left to right in a slicing motion, and a green blade of wind shot out from the tips of his fingers. The magic wind easily sliced the chandelier diagonally in half, causing both the half that Gangrel was hanging from and the Plegian King to come crashing onto the ground. Sputtering a few colorful curses, Gangrel rolled around on the gilded floor in agonizing pain before stopping to glare at the strategist.

"I'm not thanking you."

"You're not welcome."

Pushing off of his arms, Gangrel nimbly leapt up onto his feet before dusting himself off. He gave a quick, dismissive glance at the shattered half of the chandelier before looking back at Robin.

"Anyhoo, back to the matter at hand." Gangrel conversationally dusted himself off again. "What did you want to speak to me about?"

"I'm going to visit Ylisse to talk to their exalt, Emmeryn," Robin said.

The chain that was suspending the second half of the chandelier finally gave out, and it joined its other half on the floor in a broken heap of gold and glass.

"What." Was all Gangrel could manage to get out.

Robin sighed. "Plegia is doing well right now. We have more gold than we know what to do with, the farmers say that the harvest is better than ever, which to be fair, doesn't mean much since we live in mostly a desert and most of our food is imported from Valm and Ferox, and the people are, for the most part, happy. Most of the villages and towns have been rebuilt, and Plegia, as a nation, is thriving."

"Fruit of over a decade's worth of hard work, yes." Gangrel nodded his head. "But, where are you going with this?"

"You know how you send me on vacations every now and then?"

"To prevent yourself from working yourself to death?"

"Not my point, but sure." Robin tightened his lips. "During those little vacations, I've traveled the world - from Ferox to Rosanne, Chon'sin, Valm…and to Ylisse."

"Are you mad?!" Gangrel roared. "Do you have any idea what would have happened to you if you were caught?!"

Robin shrugged. "Worst case scenario? I get publicly executed. Best case scenario? Killed on the spot."

"Damn it, Robin! That's not the point! You are Plegia's Lord Strategist, the king's - MY adviser! If caught, they'd falsely make a statement about your unannounced presence there being an act of aggression! And THEN they'd hang you! And what do you think would happen then?!"

"I die?"

"Yes, you'd die! Then Plegia would lose their beloved strategist! We'd lose the king's adviser! And I - " Gangrel's voice died as he muttered the last few words. "I'd lose my closest friend…"

A solemn silence fell over the two.

"But, knowing all of this, you still plan on going anyway, right?" Gangrel muttered.

Robin nodded. "I'm sorry, but despite Ylisse's best efforts, they're still in tatters, and it's in my plans to aid them as best as possible. And from what I've seen and heard, their current exalt is a genuinely kind soul. If fate were to allow it, I'm sure you two would be friends."

"Alright." Gangrel let out a deep sigh. "Do you need any supplies?"

Robin shook his head. "All I need is my sword and tome. Though it'd be helpful if you'd personally sign a letter stating that you wish for a healthy relationship between Ylisse and Plegia. Especially since the entire continent of Valm is in under what seems to be a civil war. From my calculations, if this Walhart is victorious, he won't stop with just Valm. He'll set his eyes across the ocean…"

"…and onto the continent of Ylisse…" Gangrel finished.

"Exactly. With luck, we can get Regna Ferox to join our alliance, if only temporarily. They're renowned for their love of combat, after all. So, a letter of peace with your seal would make it easier for us to make a combined might against the potential invasion."

Gangrel let out another sigh. "Very well, consider it done. When will you depart?"

"At dawn."

"That's a very short notice," Gangrel grumbled, scratching the back of his head. "But, despite how spontaneous it may seem, I'm pretty sure you've given this plenty of thought?"

"Correct."

Gangrel's brow furrowed, obviously against the idea of Robin entering Ylisse alone, where their hospitality towards Plegians was worse than a bandit's hospitality towards merchants. But, he eventually relented as his shoulders sagged.

"This is either the dumbest idea you've ever thought of, or the smartest…"

"Not the craziest?" Robin grinned.

"Oh, it's definitely the craziest," Gangrel retorted. "I just didn't think there was a need for me to state the obvious."

"You can berate me all you want upon my return from the Halidom," Robin said, turning around. "Til then, Gangrel."

"Just drop by my room before you leave," Gangrel called out. "Can't forget my sealed letter, can you?"

Casually waving his hand over his shoulder, Robin left the throne room. The last thing that he heard before walking out of earshot was Gangrel muttering.

"How in blazes am I going to clean up this mess?"

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **So, as in the story's summary, this is just a story that sprouted off of one of my stray "What if" thoughts. I don't plan on making this into a lengthy series. It'll most likely be only a few chapters, 10 max, but yeah.**

 **I was originally planning on writing this out later on, but I just really liked this idea so I gave in and just opened up a new Google Docs sheet, and a few hours later, this happened.**

 **I've made Gangrel a little younger than what I think his normal age would be in the game just so that his friendship with Robin would seem a little more natural, and I've also made him a kind king. The main reason is that, in his supports with the _Avatar_ , he's shown to have a nicer side to him. That and because he's actually pretty good looking, contrary to his usual portrait. Have you seen his confession art? I thought that was a fanart at first, but no! It's the official art for Gangrel!**

 **Will I go into the invasion of Valm? Maybe.**

* * *

 **Also, yeah, I know, I said that my next upload was going to be on _Myriad_ , but I couldn't help it. My apologies.**


	2. Of Different Views

"Got your tomes?"

"Yup. Not that I'll exactly need them since I can use spells without the aid of a tome, then again…"

" _"Better_ _to have something and not need it than to need something and not have_ it," right? I know. You're always saying that. How about your sword? Got that?"

"Oiled and cleaned."

"Nice nice! Gold?"

"A good pouchful, snug and hidden beneath my coat."

"Seems like you're all good to go, Robin!"

Robin laughed. Dawn was a few minutes away as he was doing one last check up on his supplies before leaving for Ylisse on what would hopefully be a diplomatic mission. With luck, his mission would bear fruit, and Plegia would be in alliance with Ylisse. If things went south, then it'd be up to his wits and Henry's magic to get him out of there alive.

"Thanks again, Henry."

"No problem!" Henry grinned. "Just make sure not to get killed. You're always the most fun to talk to and show off my magic to."

"I'll do my best to not die," Robin promised. "Besides, your magic should help me out in a pinch, right?"

"Nya ha ha! My magic isn't all-powerful, Robin," Henry playfully warned. "There are limits to even what I can do, and I'm the most powerful dark mage on the continent!"

"Don't let Tharja hear you say that," Robin smirked. "There's no telling what hex or curse she'll place on you."

"Let her. I can break anything that she throws at me, and she knows it," Henry confidently said.

The two laughed together when they were interrupted by the door was suddenly opened with a bang. Wheezing with his hands on his knees was Gangrel, whose face lit up upon seeing Robin.

"Found you!"

Robin raised an eyebrow at the king. "I didn't realize I was supposed to be hiding?"

"I was afraid that I was going to miss your departure," Gangrel said as he pulled out an envelope with the seal of Plegia's crown. "Here, as requested."

"Thanks." Robin pocketed the envelope in his coat. "This should make things a lot easier when talking with the exalt."

"Speaking of the exalt, how do you plan on getting an audience with her, exactly?" Gangrel asked. "I'm pretty sure that their security is nothing to scoff at, even if it is a time a peace."

"I'll mention something about being an ambassador to you when I'm in front of the castle," Robin said. "I'm sure that they won't kill me if I'm at their doorstep. It'd be terrible for their image."

"Or they won't care about that and they'll spear you in an instant." Gangrel rolled his eyes. "How do you even plan on getting past the border? Your hair and coat aren't exactly Ylissean."

Robin snapped his fingers. A second later, his hair darkened and the Grimleal markings on his coat vanished, leaving behind a coat with no designs. Were it not for already knowing who Robin was, Gangrel and Henry wouldn't even give Robin a second glance were they to pass him on the street, for that's how 'normal' he looked.

"I guess me staying indoors for most of my life helped out in the fact that my skin complexion is quite light compared to other Plegians," Robin quipped. "I'll be able to pass myself off as a traveling mercenary like the past few times. Maybe I'll even meet Lunen again."

"Who?" Gangrel raised a brow.

"One of the southern border guards that I bumped into twice," Robin explained. "If I do come across him again, then my entry into Ylisse is all but guaranteed since I'm on friendly terms with him."

Gangrel exasperatedly shook his head. "Now you're making me think about everything else you could've possibly done during your vacations. Who knows what kind of connections you've made."

Before Robin could answer, the door burst open once more.

"People all day today. It's not even dawn, so why so many visitors?" Robin grumbled before looking at the doorway to see an old friend. "Orton? What brings you here so early in the morn?"

"Robin, my boy! And Henry!" Orton let out a hearty laugh as we wrapped his arms around the two. "It's been ages since I've seen the two of you!"

Orton was a tall man with styled brown hair and a well-kempt mustache. Only a couple years older than Gangrel, his aptitude with wyverns and the axe quickly earned him the rank of Knight-Captain in the Plegian army. Not only that, he was granted permission to start an elite group of wyvern riders. After a few cases of bandits and rogue mercenaries, the people of Plegia started calling Orton's group the "Darkwings" due to the color of their wyverns' scales.

"I saw you a few days ago at the council," Robin quipped. "That hardly counts as _"ages"_."

"Bah, you know what I mean," Orton said as he dismissively waved his hand. "Henry! You don't come by as often anymore. My wife and daughter have been talking about how much they miss you!"

"Blame this guy over here," Henry grinned while pointing a finger at Robin. "He's been sending me out on little excursions."

"Don't you dare shift the blame onto me," Robin glared. "You're the one that came to me complaining about being bored, so I simply notified you of a few bandit problems we've been having. You didn't have to take upon yourself to go take them out."

"But you know how much I like that kind of stuff!" Henry whined. "The things that I can do to them! The amounts of blood that they spill! Have you ever seen a body implode on itself? It's so much cooler than a body exploding!"

As Henry and Robin continued their squabble, Gangrel and Orton struck up a conversation.

"How have your peaches been growing?" Gangrel asked. "Better than Mustafa's?"

Orton puffed his chest out in pride. "You bet! That old man is going to get dethroned in the next Harvest Festival! My peaches this year will outclass his in every way!"

"You sound confident," Gangrel noted. "I remember when comparing your farming skills to Mustafa's was like comparing Vasto's sewing skills to his mother's."

"That was years ago. I'm a changed man! And a changed peach farmer!"

"Bwa ha ha! I look forward to the festival then! I do hope that you live up to your words, Orton."

"Is that a threat? Because we all know that you're terrible at those," Orton smirked.

"I agree," Robin joined in. "If Gangrel actually held onto his threats, I'd have been sent to the gallows thirty eight times, imprisoned ninety one times, and exiled seven times."

"I'm impressed at how you managed to memorize all that…" Gangrel muttered.

"It's cause you don't do your job and make Robin do all the paperwork," Henry snickered. "A good memory is bound to come from that!"

Gangrel's face dropped, causing the other three to laugh at their king's expense. Despite one of the four in the room being a king, another the king's retainer, the third a prodigious dark mage that's said to only come about once every thousand years, and the fourth the army's knight-captain and commander of the Darkwings, none of them cared about their social status.

"So…" Robin looked at Orton as the laughter died down. "What brings you here?"

The Knight-Captain snapped his fingers as he remembered the reason for coming to Robin's room. "That's right! Vasto and his scouts found a lone Ylissean knight by Plegia's outskirts. Vasto said that she was suffering from heatstroke, which makes sense since she was in full armor in the middle of a desert."

"A Ylissean knight?" Gangrel wondered. "What reason could she have - "

"No matter," Robin interrupted. "Where is the knight now?"

"We put her in the northern ward to recover," Orton replied. "Room 2B."

Robin pursed his lips. "And no harm came to her?"

"None aside from her tripping over her own feet on the way here," he replied. When he received dubious looks from all three of them he threw up his hands in exasperation. "I'm serious! She kept tripping over nothing as we were escorting her to her room!"

Nodding, Robin took a glance out his window. The sun had just risen over the horizon, casting a grey-blue light over the capital. "Alright, I'll go see her."

"Don't you have a halidom to go visit?" Gangrel asked Robin. "Not visit a lost Ylissean?"

"Don't you have kingly duties to attend to, along with getting some sleep?" Robin retorted. "Not tell the guy that is practically running the kingdom for you what to do?"

Gangrel opened his mouth to reply but found that to words formed on his tongue. He looked down at his feet, defeated.

"Nya ha ha! Robin's gotcha there, Gangrel!" Henry cackled.

"One day, Gangrel. One day you'll be able to match Robin's wit," Orton grinned, clapping his hand down on the king's shoulder. "Then you'll make him get serious and decimate you."

"Stooopppp…" Gangrel moaned. "You're hurting my soul!"

"Ah, chin up, you big wuss!" Orton laughed, then turned his attention to Robin and Henry. "I've gotta go now. Vasto's gonna chew me out if I'm late to practice again. I'll see you when you return from Ylisse!"

As the Knight-Captain left the room, Robin looked at Henry.

"I'm heading out to meet the knight, so good luck dealing with this one." Robin pointed a thumb at a gloomy Gangrel.

"Aw man, why'd you give me the no-fun job?" Henry whined, but Robin was already out of the room.

 _ **. . .**_

Nervous was only the tip of the iceberg of the emotions that Sumia was feeling. This entire week has been bad for her.

For starters, all her flower fortunes were less than desireable. Next, she failed to earn the trust of a pegasus to start her training, the eighth time this month alone. Cordelia was able to mount one with ease, and was even enlisted in the Royal Pegasus Knights, the dream of every young girl in Ylisse. Then, she got tongue-tied when she heard that her crush, Prince Chrom, was going to patrol the southern area of Ylisse, and couldn't bring herself to ask if she could come along. She decided to follow him the later in the day in hopes of catching up to her crush, only to lose her bearings and end up in the desert.

Things only got worse from there as a squadron of wyvern riders from Plegia descended on her. After being lost in the desert for hours, Sumia was exhausted, her throat was dry, and she barely had any strength to hold onto her spear, but she tried to fight the Plegians off anyway. She even managed to land a hit on a rider with unruly brown hair, and that was the last thing she felt before passing out from fatigue: a sense of triumph.

When she regained her senses, she was on the back of a wyvern, the very wyvern whose owner she attacked earlier. The moon was high into the sky, and the strong winds bit at Sumia's skin, and she hugged her own body for the tiniest bits of warmth.

Strangely enough, she wasn't restrained in any way. Her spear was strapped to the wyvern's side, and if the rider noticed that she was awake, he didn't show it.

Sumia was about to push the rider off the wyvern, and was a second away from doing so when she stopped herself. Were she to push the rider off his wyvern, then what? She had no idea how to control a wyvern, and even if she did manage to control it, she was surrounded on all sides by four others. Knowing that she had no options, she resigned herself to her fate and stayed silent.

That is, until the rider made a series of hand gestures and every wyvern folded their wings before they started plummeting towards the ground. She remembered a high pitched shriek escaped her throat before passing out.

Regaining her senses for the second time, Sumia was no longer in the air. The wyverns seemed to have just recently landed as the riders had only started dismounting. The man in front of her unlatched his harness before jumping onto the ground. He then turned around and extended his hand towards her.

This action greatly confused Sumia. Weren't Plegians supposed to be brutish? Did they not harbor a seething hatred for Ylisseans? So why was it that this one was holding his hand out to assist her? Why was it that a hint of worry could be seen in his eyes?

Gingerly taking the man's hand, Sumia leapt down from the wyvern's back. The moment her feet touched the ground, Sumia's legs gave out due to her fatigue and the long flight, and it were it not for the man quickly catching her, she would have fallen to the ground.

"Th-thank you…" Sumia squeaked.

"Don't mention it," the man said. "Mother would give me a tongue lashing if she heard that I let a woman fall on the ground. Can't have her do that. She's already ill as is, so I'd rather not let her strain herself just to discipline me."

Another question was raised in Sumia's mind. She was told that all Plegians were heartless monsters, and yet the man standing in front of her seemed to care deeply for his mother, despite his harsh face.

The other riders continued to work on their wyverns' harnesses, giving Sumia ample time to look around her. Due to the darkness of the night, it was difficult to take in her surroundings, but she was still able to see that she was in the middle of a large courtyard. The only way in or out that she saw was through a single set of iron gates that was slightly ajar. She had a wild thought of running for the gates, but knowing her, she would most likely trip over her feet before she even made it halfway.

When the first rays of the sun broke the horizon, the light slowly started to illuminate the rest of the area, but Sumia found herself in a shadow of sorts. Curious as to what was making the shadow, Sumia looked up and saw a towering castle.

Her jaw dropped. In no way was Sumia expecting to be in the capital city of Plegia. She thought she'd be taken to some rural area, or a small village, but never this! Any hope that she once had of escaping pittered out as Sumia's blood ran cold.

Countless thoughts ran through her head. How would she leave? Would Ylisse take action against Plegia? Would anyone notice that she was missing? If so, how would her disappearance be taken? Would it be seen as an act of aggression? A kidnapping? Ransom? Would she ever see Cordelia again? What about Chrom? Would she ever see him again? Would she be fated to spend whatever life she had left in Plegia? A land that her homeland was at war with not even two decades ago?

"Knight-Captain on grounds!"

A loud voice threw Sumia out of her reverie. The rider that brought Sumia over had barked a short line at his men, and they all snapped to attention. Following their gaze, Sumia saw a man with dark brown hair walk through the iron gates as greeted the rider that carried Sumia to Plegia.

"At ease, Vasto," the man said to Sumia's carrier, Vasto. "How was the patrol?"

Vasto said nothing as he simply turned his head to look at Sumia. Her entire body stiffened as the Knight-Captain's gaze landed on her. His face then broke into a smile as he looked back at Vasto.

"I'm impressed! You managed to woo a girl during your patrol!" The Knight-Captain laughed, shaking Vasto's shoulders. "Good for you!"

"That's not it," Vasto growled. "We found her suffering from heatstroke just before nightfall and brought her here as per Robin's orders. But, enough on that. Take a look at her armor."

The Knight-Captain inspected Sumia once more. As his eyes moved up and down her body, his eyes narrowed. "Ylissean?"

"Yes."

Sumia gulped. Fear creeped up on her as all eyes were locked on her.

"What should we do with her?" the Knight-Captain asked.

"Damn it, Orton, you're the one in charge here," Vasto groaned, rolling bandaged shoulder.

Sumia realized with a start that the shoulder he was rolling was the very spot where she struck him earlier.

"But I have you as my second," Orton, the Knight-Captain, grinned.

Vasto sighed. "Just put her in the northern prison ward and have Robin deal with it. I'm going to wash up and get this shoulder looked at."

"Oooh! Good idea, Vasto!" Orton clapped Vasto on the back.

"Just make sure to not be late for training. It starts in less than an hour."

As the wyvern riders filed out through a door that Sumia didn't see before, Orton walked up to Sumia. Standing a full head taller than her, Sumia shrank under his gaze, giving her the sense that Orton was much bigger than he actually was.

"What's your name?"

The question went in one of Sumia's ears and right out the other.

"H-Huh?"

"Ah! Of course! Heatstroke!" Orton smacked himself on the forehead. "Come, let's get you checked up by our healers."

Sumia didn't remember anything else from there on. All she knew was that she was now in a room, not so different from her personal quarters back in Ylisstol with a few bruises on her knees that she didn't remember having. Light poured in from from the window that overlooked the urban district of the capital. She vaguely remembered Vasto saying something about taking her to a prison ward, so she expected a dark dungeon, not the pleasant room that she was currently in.

Kneeling next to the bed that Sumia was sitting on was a dark haired woman with a healing staff. The staff was raised over Sumia as a warm glow emanated from the pale yellow orb at the top of the staff, surrounding Sumia with the same glow. Sitting down on one of the guest chairs in the room was Orton, whose brow was furrowed as he intently watched the healer.

After a long two minutes, the healer stood up as she let out a tired sigh.

"Well?" Orton leaned forward.

"She'll be fine with a little rest," the healer replied.

Orton let out a breath of relief as he stood up. "That's good to hear. I'll go and get Robin."

Pecking the healer on the cheek, Orton briskly walked out of the room. With a small smile on her face, the healer moved over to pack her supplies from the bedside desk.

"U-Um…"

Sumia opened her mouth but her voice dropped off midway. Noticing this, the healer warmly smiled at Sumia.

"You may call me Chari," Chari coaxed.

 _''Shah-ree'?_ _What a pretty name,'_ Sumia thought to herself.

"Is there something else that's ailing you?" Chari asked.

"No no no!" Sumia frantically waved her hands in front of her. "Th-thank you for taking care of me."

"While appreciated, your thanks is not required," Chari kindly said. "Helping one in need is only right, after all."

That was another revelation to Sumia. The kindness and ethics that she's been shown could rival Ylisse's own, and Sumia was beginning to question everything that she heard about Plegia in Ylisstol.

"Um…what will happen to me now?" Sumia timidly asked.

"What will happen to you?" Chari looked confused. "I'm afraid I don't understand what it is that you're asking."

Sumia took in a deep breath, unsure on whether or not to ask her question.

"I'm a knight of Ylisse," Sumia finally said. "Don't Plegians harbor a hatred for Ylisseans?"

Chari's brow furrowed momentarily before she understood what Sumia was asking and laughed softly.

"Oh, you poor thing," Chari said. "You must've been frightened with that thought in your head." Chari then looked at Sumia with gentle eyes. "We may have once held a grudge against Ylisse for what your past exalt has done, and I will admit, there are still a few that are holding onto that grudge."

Sumia inadvertently shrank backwards.

"But, please believe me when I say that the grudge has passed nearly a decade ago, and we Plegians only wish to live in peace," Chari continued. "Our nation was crippled after the war, but look at us now; we're thriving. The hatred that we once harbored is no longer there, and it's all thanks to the efforts of Robin and our king, Gangrel."

"The Mad King?"

Chari warm laughter filled the room. "I've heard that name being tossed around by a few traders here and there, and I assure you, he is anything but. I do not know how or why he is referred to as such. In all of Plegia's history, I do not think we've had a more kind-hearted king. He may act like a jester at times, but those are the kinds of acts that make him loved by the public; he is not afraid of showing what he's like behind closed doors. His foolish antics are what makes him so relatable."

Sumia slowly nodded. Once more, another contradiction to what she was led to believe in Ylisse. The Mad King of Plegia was not mad. Then, something poked at her mind. A name that was brought up multiple times in her short visit.

"Lady Chari?"

"Just Chari, dear. I am no noble, just a mere healer."

"U-Umm, okay," Sumia gulped. "Who's Robin? I've heard his name a few times, so…"

"Robin? Oh, he is such a wonderful boy." Chari rested her head on her hands. Sumia couldn't help but think that she looked like a doting mother. "Kind, caring, intelligent, humble, the perfect gentleman. I would love to have a son like him."

"Umm…"

"Oh, would you look at me, going on like that," Chari scolded herself. "Robin is, without a doubt, the main reason that Plegia was brought back from the brink."

"Wasn't that the work of the M- King Gangrel?" Sumia managed to catch herself before saying, _'Mad King'_ , and mentally patted herself on the back.

"Well, yes," Chari hummed. "But what would a king be without an advisor?"

Sumia blanched. "Y-You mean…Robin i-is…"

"The Chief Advisor to King Gangrel, and the king's one and only retainer," Chari confirmed. "They are brothers in all but blood."

Sumia found herself at a loss of words. What has she done? Her foolish actions of getting lost in the desert ended up with the Plegian King's personal advisor visiting her! And at the crack of dawn! No one liked getting up early in the morning, and he would no doubt be grouchy for having been summoned so early in the day.

All the fear, nervousness, and anxiety that Sumia felt earlier came back in full force even before a knock sounded at the door.

"Chari?"

"Ah, here he is now," Chari noted before opening the door and stepped aside to let the Chief Advisor in.

Robin was nothing like Sumia was expecting. At first, she was making Robin out to be a large, hulking man due to her anxiety and fear, but then she imagined him as a pale, lanky man with features similar to that of a snake when she remembered that he was the king's advisor. Robin was neither of those.

The Chief Advisor couldn't be any older than she was. His white, unkempt hair made it seem like he just got out bed. He had a black coat with golden embroideries was donned over a beige shirt and pants, all tied together by a leather belt. A regal blade was strapped to the right side of his waist, which Sumia found to be curious. If his sword was sheathed on his right, that means he would have to wield his sword with his left hand, something that was practically unheard of in Ylisse, as every knight would hold their weapons in their right hand.

What was even more curious was the fact that Sumia felt like she'd seen him before. But that was impossible! He was the king's advisor, and she had never left Ylisse, so there was no way that she could have seen him before. And to be appointed as an advisor at his age?! Sumia was having a very difficult time wrapping her head around that fact.

"You're a little late," Chari jokingly said, poking Robin in the chest.

"Yeah…I got a little side-tracked…" Robin sheepishly scratched the back of his head.

* * *

"2B…2B…no, that's 5C…maybe here? No, that's - how in Grima's balls did I go from 1A to 9S to 5C?! Who designed this place?!"

* * *

"Regardless, I'm here now, aren't I?" Robin smiled.

"Indeed, you are," Chari said. She then gestured over to Sumia, who was still sitting on the bed. "This is Sumia, a Ylissean knight that Vasto's patrol found."

The instant Robin's eyes met hers, Sumia couldn't move. His eyes held such an intensity that was reminiscent of the look Commander Phila would give the new recruits during training. Only, while Commander Phila would be looking for any potential in the recruits, Robin's eyes were…different. Calculating. It was almost as if he was reading a book, prying out all the information that he could get from his eyes alone.

Due to that, she only just started to feel embarrassed from the fact that she was lightly dressed in a sleeveless blouse that displayed a bit of cleavage. Her skirt barely went down to her mid-thigh, and she quickly pressed her knees together and looked down at her lap.

"I'll be taking my leave now," Chari announced. "A lady needs her beauty sleep, after all."

"Of course," Robin stepped to the side. "Thank you for your help, Chari."

"Do visit more often," Chari said as she left the room. "Rosa misses you dearly."

Robin chuckled as the healer closed the door behind her, leaving Robin and Sumia alone in the room. The silence was nearly suffocating, and Sumia's hands tightened from nervousness.

"Rosa is Chari and Orton's daughter," Robin finally said, still staring at the door. "Seven years old, yet she still insists on getting rides on my shoulders whenever I visit. Not that I mind, but she's growing fast, and as such, is getting a little bit heavy."

Sumia remained silent. It's not because she didn't want to say anything, but because she _couldn't_ say anything. Like the countless times prior to now, words failed to form on her tongue.

"So." Robin looked back at Sumia. "How are you feeling?"

"Eh?" Sumia blinked, once again not having expected a Plegian to worry about her well-being. "O-Oh, I'm feeling alright, thank you very much. Lady Chari was really helpful."

"That's good to hear."

Sumia thought that Robin was merely speaking out of formalities, but that thought was quickly erased when she saw the visible worry etched in his eyes. She watched as his eyes wandered from her head to her armor that was neatly organized against a wall.

"Training to be a pegasus knight?" Robin asked.

Surprised at his acute question, Sumia was a little late in her answer. "Y-Yes. How did you…?"

"How did I know?" Robin grinned. "Your armor helped out. Chestplate, gauntlets, wrist guards, and pauldrons, all designed to protect the upper body. Each of them lightweight pieces, yet sturdy enough to ward off a few blows. However, you have little in regards to your lower body, only having those very thin shin-guards for your legs. If you were a standard knight, you'd be equipped with armored boots and greaves, but you don't seem to have any here. The two white wings on your circlet are also a dead giveaway."

"But how did you know I was still in training?"

"There wasn't any mention of a pegasus from Orton, nor have there been any sightings of one recently. To my understanding, pegasi are fiercely loyal to their master. Going by that, since there was no pegasus around you when the patrol found you, it's safe to say that you have yet to…tame one. Would 'tame' be the right word in this situation?

"In any case, if you were a full-fledged pegasus knight, then you'd have a pegasus with you. Seeing how you don't, I took a guess in assuming that you were still in training. Am I mistaken?"

Sumia shook her head. She was stunned at the accuracy of Robin's statements. Everything he said was true, and he was able to figure all that out within seconds of meeting her. On the other hand, Sumia knew absolutely nothing about Robin, aside from the fact that he was young, had a sword, and was the Chief Advisor for Plegia.

"What now?" Sumia asked.

Robin said nothing as he stared at her with calculating eyes. He was no doubt reading her expression once more, and Sumia tried to do the same but failed as Robin's face remained stoic. No emotion could be seen in his eyes, unlike before when he asked how she was feeling, and his face remained neutral for a solid minute before finally speaking.

"I've a proposition for you, one that will benefit the both of us, and with luck, both of our respective nations."

This piqued Sumia's curiosity as she looked at Robin. This day was full of surprises, nerve wracking events, and unexpected turns, and Plegia's Chief Advisor asking her for aid definitely topped all three of those.

"My plan for today was to sneak into Ylisse and get an audience with your exalt, only there seems to be a few hiccups in my plan, one being your sudden arrival." Robin folded his arms as he leaned against the wall behind him. "As I'm sure you're aware, Ylisse does not have a friendly view on Plegia; it's downright hostile. And as such, for me, a Plegian, to request an audience will most likely end very poorly for me, most likely resulting in either my death or imprisonment.

"This is where you come in. If you, a Ylissean knight, and from the looks of it, a daughter of a lord, were to request for an audience with the exalt with a guest, things would proceed much more smoothly than if I were to request one. So, thoughts?"

Sumia mulled over Robin's words. The her of a merely a day ago would have refused on the spot, not wanting to help a Plegian. But after her experiences here, and after seeing how the Plegians here were nothing like the ones that she was told of back in Ylisse, she found herself wanting to say 'Yes'.

"Before I answer, can I ask why you want an audience with Exalt Emmeryn?" Sumia inquired.

"Of course." Robin nodded. "Transparency is needed for trust between two nations after all. I merely wish for peace between our nations, Ylisse and Plegia. From what I've gathered, Ylisse is not doing very well. Despite the best efforts of your farmers, your harvests are only a fraction of what they once were. Traders are going in and out of Ylisse, but you're still struggling economically.

"Plegia, on the other hand, has food coming in from Ferox and Valm, and our coffers are filled with gold. My proposal is for our two nations to establish trade routes with each other. Your exalt wishes for peace, as does our king and all of Plegia. The way I see it, this is the best way for our nations to start trusting one another. What say you? Do I have your cooperation?"

Sumia couldn't believe it. Exalt Emmeryn spent many years stressing over how she could attain peace with Plegia under the belief that Plegia despised Ylisse. Yet, her belief of Plegia couldn't be further from the truth! And now, the answer to peace that Exalt Emmeryn was searching for was standing right in front of Sumia.

There was no hesitation in Sumia's actions. Rising to her feet, she boldly stepped forward and stopped just within arms reach of Robin before answering with a single word.

"Yes."

Maybe, just maybe, things were finally starting to look up for the to-be pegasus knight.

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **|| Author's Note ||**

 **I still don't know where I'm headed with this story. This entire chapter was made up on a whim a couple days ago, and it was only the part of Sumia's introduction, and it was only like...4 lines. Everything else I made up on the spot while typing out Sumia's introduction scene.**


	3. Of Different Cultures

Sumia was lost. Terribly lost. Leave it to her to get lost on a short trip to and from the restroom only moments after she and Robin came to an agreement.

"Way to blow it this time, Sumia," she chided herself. "Of course you would forget the directions that Robin would give you."

After the king's strategist had guided her to the restroom, he departed after telling her to meet him at the main gate by going down the hall they were currently in, then take two rights and then one left until she reached a large door made of bronze. One more right after that and she'd be at the great hall.

Simple, right? Not for Sumia.

She was normally good with directions, but that was only in Ylisse, a place that she was familiar with. And right now, she was not in Ylisse. She was in Plegia, a nation that was practically foreign to her

"Oh nooo…" Sumia started to run down the hall in hopes of backtracking her way back to the restroom. "Robin is probably mad since I'm so late! Oh, this is just like the time when Cordelia and I entered Ylisstol Castle for the first - OOF!"

Due to her mind being in disarray, Sumia was only vaguely paying attention to where she was going and ended up bumping into someone.

"E-Eep!"

A quiet squeak escaped Sumia when she saw the person she bumped into. That person made her feel small, for that was how large the man was. His copper skin glistened with sweat and he wasn't wearing a shirt, exposing his rippling muscles. Seeing a shirtless man wasn't new to Sumia, as there was someone back in Ylisse, a man named Vaike, who also refused to wear one, but this man in front of her looked like he could easily beat Vaike to the far ends of Valm and back.

"Are you alright, lass?"

Gods, even the man's voice was intimidating. It was like a bear's voice in a human body, but even deeper and more booming. His head, which was devoid of any hair, gleamed in the light.

"You must be that Ylissean knight, yes?"

Sumia could only nod out of fear and the man chuckled. When he smiled, his eyes would soften by a fraction and the small wrinkles beside his eyes told Sumia that the man smiled, or laughed, often.

"I am Mustafa, and to put it simply, I am a peach farmer," Mustafa said.

"P-Peach farmer?"

"Correct."

Pride could be heard in Mustafa's voice when he replied. Before Sumia could say anything else, Mustafa reached down and pulled out a peach from a bag he was holding, something that she Sumia was unable to see before. He handed her the peach, which she took with a hand that was only trembling a little bit.

"Freshly picked and cleaned by myself earlier this morning," Mustafa said. "Give it a taste."

Not wanting to be rude, she took a bite out of the peach, and her eyes widened in surprise. The peach was sweet and juicy, while also not being too soft or hard. It would not have been a lie to say that not even the best farmers in Ylisse would be able to cultivate peaches like the one she was holding in her hand right now.

She quickly took another bite. Then another. And another. Before she knew it, all that was left was a peach seed in her hand, and her face dropped in disappointment.

"I take it that you enjoyed it?" Mustafa asked.

Sumia nodded. "It was delicious!"

"Plegia will be having our Harvest Festival next month," Mustafa said. "If you happen to drop by, you can try my wife's peach pies and tarts that are made with these peaches."

"I would love to!" Sumia brightly exclaimed. Then her smile faded. "But…I'm not too sure if I'll be able to. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to come here again."

"If this is about Ylisse and Plegia not being on friendly terms, I'm sure that problem will be resolved soon enough. That's why you and Robin are going to Ylisse today, isn't it?"

A shock coursed through Sumia's body as she remembered her reason for being here in the first place. After explaining her plight to Mustafa, the older man nodded in understanding.

"This place certainly is like a maze," Mustafa said. "Follow me. I will take you to Robin. While he did say to meet him at the main gate, he won't be there for a little while. Instead, he'll be someplace else."

Mustafa started to walk down the hall in the opposite direction Sumia was originally heading. As he guided her through the castle's corridors, Sumia couldn't help but wonder who Mustafa was. Surely a simple peach farmer wouldn't be able to simply walk into Plegia's castle and know the entire layout by heart. Such a thing was unheard of back in Ylisse. But, then again, there were many differences between Ylisse and Plegia, so there was a chance that Mustafa truly was just a peach farmer. An excellent one, at that.

Minutes passed until they arrived a set of wooden doors. Mustafa pushed them opened and motioned for Sumia to step out as he held the doors, and Sumia walked out onto a cobblestone road behind the castle. The road continued on before vanishing behind a small hill.

"Robin is most likely further down the road," Mustafa said. "Not much further now."

Sumia still had no idea where Mustafa was leading her. She simply continued to follow him down the winding path until she came to the entrance to an archstone gate. Runic letters adorned the curvature of the gate, and each character was slightly aglow with a dim purple light.

"Robin worked with two of our best dark mages to create a powerful ward around this cemetery." Mustafa pointed at the runes. "It shames me to say it, but there are those who wish to desecrate the dead; graverobbers and the like. So this ward is here to prevent that from happening."

"How could people do such a thing?!" Sumia was horrified.

"I ask that question myself all the time, lass," Mustafa sighed.

Mustafa led Sumia into the cemetery without speaking. Perhaps he was in no mood to talk, or perhaps it was in respect for the dead.

As she walked, Sumia noticed that there wasn't a single speck of sand anywhere to be seen, despite being in a desert. The road was made of slabs of smooth stone, and her eyes wandered to the gravestones. Most were of simple and plain designs of rounded stones with the person's name engraved in it. Some had flowers placed on top of the grave and others had slightly different designs. There was one tombstone in the shape of a cross, a few were made of black marble, and curiously enough, there was one engraved with the symbol of the Mark of Naga, which was a marking for Ylissean royalty.

Sumia wanted to ask Mustafa about the Ylisse gravestone but held her tongue. Then, something else caught her eye.

There, in the middle of the cemetery, was a large, circular clearing. Despite being in a desert nation, the entire clearing was a lush field of grass and blooming flowers, and in the very center was a towering gravestone of pure white marble.

"That…is a memorial." Mustafa noticed Sumia's gaze and answered the question that was in her head. "The people wanted a way to honor those who fell during the previous war, so this was created for them."

"Robin's idea?"

"The people's idea that Robin put into action," Mustafa corrected. "I don't even know how he got that stone from Valm. It's the very stone that was used in the shrines for Naga and Mila, so how he managed to do convince the priests of the shrines to give him that much remains a mystery."

After that short talk, Mustafa led her further into the cemetery. The scenery started to change from the sandy desert into a gravel road. The gravel road then changed to the edge of a plateau that overlooked a vast lake in the distance. Or was it a large oasis? Sumia wasn't knowledgeable on deserts, and as such, she didn't know what the difference was.

At the far end of the plateau was something that went against all logic that Sumia knew. A miniature grove, full of green and life, was growing. A plateau in a desert should be devoid of anything of the sort, and Sumia rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. When she opened them again, the grove was still there.

She was so busy wondering how the grove managed to get there that she didn't realize that Mustafa had stopped walking. It was only when he placed his hand on her shoulder that she noticed. Before she could even ask why he stopped, Mustafa calmly put a finger up to his lips, signaling for her to be silent. The reason came soon enough when she heard Robin's voice.

"…still cold. Though, I guess that's what makes Ferox…Ferox. I honestly don't know how they can live all the time in the snow. Oh, I'm also planning on participating in their annual competition. I'm pretty sure I can beat Lon'qu this time around."

Curious as to who Robin was talking to, Sumia quietly took a few steps forward and pushed aside a few leaves. She found him easily enough. He was seated at the cliff's edge in plain sight, but there was nobody else there aside from her and Mustafa. Which then left the question: who was Robin speaking to? She found her answer by looking a little past Robin.

"By the way, I'm heading out again. I know I just came back a couple of weeks ago from Ferox, but this one isn't Gangrel forcing - sorry, _sending_ me on vacation again. I'll be heading to Ylisse to speak with Exalt Emmeryn. Hopefully, I can get an audience without too much trouble thanks to Sumia. Sumia is the one that I mentioned before; the Ylissean knight that Vasto's patrol found. Though I will admit, her arrival threw my schedule off a little since I should have already been on my way to Ylisse right now. But, I guess it was also a blessing, in a way. She may just be my ticket for getting an audience with the exalt, and I was also able to come here again."

Robin was sitting in front of a grave. The grave was made of the very same material as the memorial that Sumia saw earlier, and there was also a lilac placed on top of the grave.

Just from watching, Sumia felt as though she was intruding on something that she should not be seeing, or even hearing. She barely even knew Robin, and everything here was still so foreign to her. Yet, she couldn't bring herself to turn away.

"With luck, I should be back within a week's time." Robin stood up and dusted his pants. "I'll see you then, Mother."

A small gasp escaped Sumia. She immediately put her hands over her mouth but Robin had already heard her. He turned around and his eyes met hers, and Sumia's brain started to frantically turn its gears to find an excuse to have been spying on Robin. Unfortunately for her, her brain failed to deliver. Fortunately for her, Robin didn't seem to mind her presence as he motioned for her to approach.

"I-I'm sorry," Sumia apologized as she sheepishly approached. "I didn't mean to…"

"Don't worry about it," Robin said. "I wasn't exactly hiding this or anything, so it's no big deal. But I have to ask… Did Mustafa bring you here?" After seeing Sumia nod, Robin sighed and rubbed his temples. "That old man always… Never mind. I'm sure he's already headed back by now after he brought you here." Turning his head to look at the grave, Robin took in a deep breath. "This grave belongs to my mother. She passed away when I was four years old, so I don't have many memories of her. All I remember is the sound of her laugh and her smile."

"I'm sorry," Sumia repeated. "I…I know what it's like to lose a mother."

Robin somberly nodded. "She's the only family that I have, not considering my father, Validar. He isn't exactly the…" His expression soured and paused momentarily, searching for the right word. "…family type. He never felt the need to make a grave for her, so I took it upon myself to do so. When he found out, he destroyed it in a fit of rage."

"That's horrible!" Sumia cried out. "What kind of father would do that?"

"As crude as this may seem, I do not consider that man to be my father," Robin bitterly said. "All he cared about was using me to strengthen his position with the Grimleal, who are worshipers of the Fell Dragon. Anyway, I only found out that Validar destroyed my mother's grave when one of my friends sent me one of his crows to tell me. I was in Valm at the time, and I had recently taken out a group of bandits and rapists that were making a move on one of Mila's shrines. They wished to repay me for saving both their shrine and their lives, so I asked them if they knew of a stone that would not be destroyed by time. Their answer was the stones that were blessed by Mila, and they promised to send me a shipment to Plegia."

"And this stone was used for your mother's grave?" Sumia asked.

"Correct." Robin looked over at Sumia. "There was a memorial on the way here. Did you happen to see it?"

"Yes. Mustafa said that it was dedicated to those that fell in the previous war between Ylisse and Plegia."

Robin nodded. "I'm sure you've noticed already, but the memorial is made of the very stone that Mila's zealots sent. Most of the stone was used on the memorial, the little bit I had left over was used for my mother." He crouched down in front of the grave again and placed his hand on the ground. "Curiously enough, if one of Mila's stones are placed in the ground, life will spring forth in its vicinity. It's a nice little touch, don't you think?"

That was another question that was answered before Sumia even asked. She was beginning to think that Robin could read minds. Either that, or he simply knew what to explain and what not to explain.

Robin stood up and faced Sumia again. "Are you ready to head to Ylisse?"

Sumia's face immediately brightened up. "Yes!"

Reaching into his side pocket, Robin pulled out a small gem and held out his hand.

"Grab on."

Perhaps it was due to his calming nature, or maybe it was something else entirely, but Sumia reached forward instantly and placed her hand on the orb. Once her fingers touched the smooth surface, a white light started to shine from the inside. The light grew brighter until it nearly blinded Sumia. Just before it got to the point where it blinded her, the light vanished.

Sumia blinked rapidly a few times to restore her vision. Once it returned, Sumia found herself standing in a grand hall with a deep purple carpet rolled out on the floor. The ceiling was much higher up than the Ylisstol Castle's, and arched windows lined the walls.

"Welcome back to Plegia castle," Robin casually said, as if instantly traveling from one place to another was commonplace. "There's a caravan waiting for us outside. She'll be able to take us to Ylisse without too much of a problem." Robin's face then turned into a grimace. "I hope."

Rolling his neck, Robin walked down the hall. Following close behind him, Sumia thought about how her life took an unexpected turn. She made a mental note to tell this story to the others back in Ylisse the next time they shared stories. How many of her friends would believe her though, she wondered.

As she continued to follow Robin, she noticed that he would greet every servant and maid that he came across by their names. What surprised Sumia even more was that each one of the servants and maids looked happy. Usually, the work of servants was looked down upon and disliked, but that was the complete opposite here in Plegia. In fact, Robin would thank them individually for their work.

When one of the maids tripped over her feet and dropped a set of tea by Robin, she started to apologize profusely. Rather than getting irritated or angry, Robin lightheartedly laughed it off and swept up the mess into a dustpan with a cast of tome-less magic, which was another thing added to Sumia's growing list of surprises. Spells without the aid of a tome wasn't unheard of back in Ylisse, but it was rarely conducted due to the severe mental backlash it'd cause for the caster. Getting off with a killer headache and blood coming out of the nose was only the lightest repercussions, or so Sumia heard.

"It's fine, Felicia." Robin helped the pink haired maid off the ground. "There's no need to apologize."

"B-But!" Felicia wiped tears away from her eyes. "This is the eighth time I messed up this morning alone!"

"Things happen, whether it's one time, eight times, or even a hundred times," Robin coaxed. "I don't judge you by how you perform, but by how much effort you put in. And I've seen the amount of effort you've been putting into your work."

"What good is all that effort if I can't even carry a tray from one room to another without spilling everything?" Felicia pouted.

"As I said, it's alright. Everyone has select things that they're efficient at and things that they aren't so efficient at. If anything, you're always fun to talk to, and your control over ice magic is second to none."

Felicia's face brightened from Robin's words. With another quick bow to Robin, she picked up the dustpan and happily skipped down the hall.

"You're kind to the servants…" Sumia thought out loud as they resumed walking.

"Hm?"

"Not that it's a bad thing!" Sumia hastily added. "It's just that you don't see too many people showing kindness to servants. At least, in Ylisse."

Robin was silent for a few moments, making Sumia think that she said something wrong.

"That's what one of the other maids said to me many years ago," Robin finally said. "She asked me why I was so nice to her and the other maids around here. I didn't have an answer for her back then aside from me seeing it as normal." Robin paused for a second. "In a way, they're the ones that are keeping this place up and running in the background. Their job is as difficult as Gangrel's and mine, in that regard. They're people as well, right? Take away our titles and ranks, and what do you get? Just regular, normal people, unexceptional in nearly every way."

His answer, while not exactly conventional to lords and royals, made sense to Sumia. It was one that she could relate to.

"Not to mention that I'd much rather live and work around people that I'm comfortable with," Robin added as he pushed aside a set of doors leading outside. "If I treated them poorly, then there would be tension everywhere in the castle, and I'd much rather avoid that."

Once Sumia stepped past the doors and out into the open, her breath was taken away by the sight before her.

She was currently standing at the entrance to Plegia's castle, at the very top of a mountainous staircase. Below her was the entirety of Plegia's capital city. Countless rooftops of buildings, homes, and shops were neatly spread out across the land, and streets crisscrossed the area in an organized manner. Even from this high up, she was able to see the citizens bustling about, and their voices were carried by the wind from the streets to the castle's entrance.

To put it simply, it was like the busy marketplace of Ylisstol, only better.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Robin was looking out at the view next to her with a small smile on his face.

"It's more than beautiful," Sumia replied. "It's…it's… I can't even find the words to describe it. How did you manage all of this?"

"All I did was create the plans and lay the foundations. _They_ \- " Robin waved his hand out towards all of Plegia. " - did all of the work. It's both terrifying and mesmerizing to see what people can do when they all work together towards a singular goal."

Sumia's eyes scanned the city once more until they landed on the skeletal remains of…something. That something, whatever it was, was larger than the city itself and sent chills down Sumia's spine just by looking at it.

"Robin? What is that?" Sumia pointed over at the skeleton.

"That's…" Robin's face dropped. "That's the bones of Grima."

Sumia was afraid that she misheard him, and stuttered, "Wh-What?"

"Grima," Robin repeated. "You know, the angry dark dragon that was slain by the first exalt, Exalt Gherman, a thousand years ago?"

It was a well-known fact that Grima's remains were in Plegia. But what Sumia didn't know was the fact that Grima's remains were right next to Plegia's capital city. It just went to show how little Ylisseans knew of Plegia.

"Heh, seeing that brings up an old memory of mine," Robin said as he started to walk down the stairs.

"What is it?"

Robin's hand landed on the hilt of his sword. "Grima's bones are practically indestructible. I say _"_ _practically indestructible"_ because no tool or magic was able to even put a scratch on its bones, but when I pulled on one of the fangs to climb up the bones, the fang just snapped off." Robin laughed as he recalled the memory. "I remember the faces of the Grimleal priests. They looked at me as if I desecrated their most holy and sacred icon. Or would it be considered unholy and cursed?"

"But isn't that what you did?" Sumia asked.

"Semantics," Robin grinned. "They asked me how I did it and why I even tried to climb Grima's bones. I had no answer to the first one, but for the second? I was a kid back then, and kids climb things. The priests were furious, of course, but they couldn't really do anything aside from throw some angry looks in my direction."

His story brought up a laugh from Sumia. It reminded her of the time when Prince Chrom was learning how to wield a spear, and how the spear ended up lodged in a marble statue that was at the entrance to Ylisstol Castle. Needless to say, after that incident, the prince was never allowed to touch a spear again, and was taught solely on how to wield his sword, Falchion.

And then a thought popped up into Sumia's head. Robin said that he accidentally snapped off one of Grima's fangs. Falchion was a sword crafted from one of the Divine Dragon Naga. It was only a chance, but, a chance still had a possibility of it happening.

"Um…Robin?"

Robin turned his head without breaking stride. "Yes?"

There were a few seconds from Sumia as she tried to figure out how to word her question. "Your sword - no. What happened to Grima's fang?"

"I'm sure you already figured it out," Robin answered. "Just like how Prince Chrom's Falchion was created from Naga's fang, my sword here - " Robin tapped his sword's scabbard. " - was forged from the fang I broke off. Er, scratch that. Rather than it being forged, the fang just crumbled away and left behind this."

"I see…" Sumia nodded but she couldn't fathom an oversized fang crumbling apart to reveal a sword within.

She was so absorbed in her talk with Robin that she didn't even realize that they had reached the bottom of the stairs. Robin continued to walk, and Sumia started to think that they were going to walk all the way to Ylisse. When she asked Robin if they were going to walk to Ylisse, Robin merely laughed.

"Although that sounds nice, no, we are not walking there," Robin said. "We'll be taking a merchant's caravan."

"A merchant?"

"Yup. I told you that we'd be taking one not too long ago when we were still in the castle." Robin raised a curious eyebrow. "Did you already forget?"

Heat rushed to Sumia's cheeks. "N-No, I didn't, it's just - "

She stopped when Robin broke into mirthful laughter. "I'm just playing around. Honestly, if you managed to remember every single thing that I said, then I'd start to think that you're some sort of genius and give you my job." His head started to move left and right as if he was looking for something. Or someone. "Now, the meeting spot is here, so where is...?"

As if on cue, a woman with bright red hair ran approached the duo. Sumia could have sworn that she'd seen the woman somewhere, but couldn't exactly place her finger on it.

"Hello there, Anna," Robin greeted the woman with a smile.

"You're a little late," Anna cheekily replied. "Time is money, you know."

"My apologies, but there were a few unexpected occurrences this morning," Robin laughed.

"You mean like your lady friend here?" Anna looked over at Sumia.

Robin nodded. "Anna, meet Sumia, a knight of Ylisse. Sumia, meet Anna, the head of Plegia's trading guild and our way into Ylisse."

"Pleasure to meet you!" Anna chirped and extended her hand towards Sumia.

"L-Likewise." Sumia returned the greeting.

After shaking Sumia's hand, Anna turned to Robin once more. "My caravan is just a ways away, ready to go. Shall we?"

"Of course," Robin said. "I trust that the payment has already been received?"

"You bet!" Anna nodded. "But I could charge you a late fee for making me wait past the meeting time," she mischievously added.

"If all goes well in Ylisse, you'll receive the payment for that in the form of newly established trading lines with Ylisse."

At this, Anna playfully hit Robin on the shoulder. "Oh, lighten up! You know I wouldn't charge you for something like a late fee. If it was for anyone else, yes, but you're a special customer. You helped me get my trade off the ground in Plegia, you know!"

"I'm honored." Robin lowered his head and tipped his imaginary hat.

"As you should be," Anna joked. "Now come on, let's hurry to Ylisse so you can get those trading lines up and running so that I can earn more gold!"

Anna skipped off after that, leaving Robin and Sumia alone to walk after the peppy merchant. With her departure from Plegia so close by, a strange feeling of sadness crept up on Sumia. She was only here for one night, but she felt as if she was here for much longer. There were still so many things that she didn't know about Plegia and it's people, and so many curiosities that poked at her. She truly wanted to stay longer, and her return to Ylisse felt like a chore.

Her longing to stay showed as her pace slowed and she started to drag her feet. She was just about to enter Anna's caravan when a bell's chime sounded across the capital city. Within seconds, the once cheerful and bustling air of the city was immediately replaced with that of dread and worry. The guards in the vicinity immediately started to form lines and could be seen running in the same direction; east.

She briefly wondered why they were heading in that direction when the realization hit her like a stampeding horse.

Ylisse was Plegia's _eastern_ neighbor.

"Oh no…" Sumia started to fear for the worst and looked at Robin, who was holding a swirling ball of purple light in his hand.

Raising his hand into the sky, the light rocketed skyward and detonated, creating a bang that was louder than the alarm bells. A second later, the panicking citizens of the capital stopped scrambling around as they all looked up at the light, and Robin took in a deep breath while placing his index and middle finger just below his chin.

"People of Plegia!" Robin's voice, amplified by magic, boomed through the area. His voice would no doubt be heard throughout the capital. "Stay calm, and do not panic! Civilians, close your shops and enter your houses! Remain indoors until further notice! Guards of the western wing, stay where you are! North and South wings, send a third of your forces to the eastern wing!"

After Robin finished speaking, the city started to come alive again, but in a much more controlled manner. Sumia was amazed at how quickly Robin took control of the situation and how quickly he was able to calm a panicking city.

"GANGREL!" Robin's voice split the air once more. "Get off your lazy clown ass and meet me at the eastern wall! Orton, Mustafa, Henry, and Tharja, you four as well!"

A few guards chuckled as they ran by Robin and Sumia.

" _"_ _Lazy clown ass."_ " "Only Robin would say that."

"Sumia."

"Y-Yes!"

Robin's authoritative tone caused Sumia to stand at attention, not unlike when she was called upon by Commander Phila.

"You're with me."

"Understood!"

Robin then jumped onto Anna's caravan. Once Sumia got in, Robin gave Anna a thumb's up and the caravan started to move. The caravan moved smoothly across the ground, but that was neither here nor there. Contrary to Sumia's nervousness, Robin was sitting calmly on the seat across Sumia's. His hands were folded across his lap and his eyes were closed.

They sat in silence for a while. The biggest question in Sumia's mind was what the alarm was about, but she kept quiet about it because Robin seemed to be concentrating on something. It was only when Anna's caravan stopped moving after roughly ten minutes that Robin opened his eyes.

"We're here!" Anna called out from the front of the caravan.

Not a second later, Robin was out of the caravan. It took Sumia a few more seconds to catch up to Robin, who was speaking with one of the border guards. Due to her lateness, she was only able to catch the last bits of their conversation.

"…certain of this?" Robin asked.

"Absolutely," the guard replied. "Our scouts saw the flag clearly. They've passed the grey zone fifteen minutes ago and are now in Plegian territory."

A sigh escaped Robin's lips as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Alright. Dismissed."

"Sir!" The guard saluted and briskly walked away.

With the guard now being gone, Sumia approached Robin.

"What's going on?" Sumia timidly asked.

Robin rubbed his temples and faced Sumia.

"It would seem that your friends in Ylisstol saw your disappearance as a kidnapping," Robin said. "They have a vanguard approaching the capital, and they're up in arms."

Sumia's jaw dropped. This was something that she was hoping would never happen as it was the worst possible outcome. The previous war between Ylisse and Plegia had only recently ended, and the possibility of a second war was on the horizon, and her foolishness was the cause of it.

"And get this," Robin wryly smiled. "They're led by the Ylissean Prince, Chrom."

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Somewhere when writing this out, I started to focus a lot on character and world building rather than anything else. If this chapter seemed more...info-dumpy than usual, that's the reason why.**


	4. Of Different Beliefs

A sea of sand, dunes, and bones of creatures long dead. That was the only thing that Prince Chrom could see as he led his men through the Plegian desert. His armor weighed down on his body and his greaves made it incredibly difficult to move in the sand. And he wasn't the only one having trouble.

Behind him was a small group of fighters, nearly two dozen in total. Ten of them were members of the Ylissean guard, eager to prove their worth to their prince. Another three were members of Commander Phila's Royal Pegasus Knights who were tasked to guard him, who were currently scouting ahead to make sure there weren't any Plegians lying in ambush. The rest were members of the Shepherds, a ragtag team of his friends volunteered to help rescue their friend. And every single one of them, save for one, looked to be tired of the heat and sands of Plegia.

"How do people live in this godforsaken place?" Chrom muttered, wiping his brow.

"Milord!"

A tall, blue armored knight atop a horse pointed up. Following the knight's direction, Chrom saw three shadows descending from the skies. As they approached, Chrom was able to make out the finer details on the shadows, and recognized them as the pegasus knights that were sent out earlier as scouts.

Once the three safely landed, the knights swiftly dismounted their pegasi and approached Chrom.

"Reporting!" The lead pegasus knight snapped to attention in front of Chrom and stood with her back straight. The other two followed her example, saluting the prince.

"Go ahead, Cyllis."

"We - " Cyllis paused, giving her two fellow knights a brief glance. "That is…"

"Well?" The blue knight's voice was stern, causing Cyllis' body to stiffen in response.

"Y-Yes! Their military has gathered at the eastern gates. Forces from both the southern and northern wings of their capital were also seen to be relocating."

Chrom clenched his fists. "Those fiends! They've been expecting us this entire time since they kidnapped Sumia!"

"Milord, I highly recommend that we retreat for now," the blue knight suggested in a calm voice. "Our forces alone will not be able to stand against an army, even if they are some of the best knights of Ylisse."

"And leave Sumia alone with those damned Plegians for how much longer, Frederick?"

"Permission to speak, milord?"

One of the pegasus knights took a small step forward. Her long, scarlet hair flowed down her back, and even with a helmet on, her beauty showed from underneath her faceguard.

"Go ahead," Chrom said.

"When we were out scouting, I took a look at the walls of Plegia," the knight said. "We were not flying that high in the air, so it would not have surprised me if we were spotted."

"That does not change anything," Frederick cut in. "Plegian wyverns circled around us briefly upon our approach, so them knowing of our approach changes nothing. You're report also stated that their army is mobilizing, which means that they're already ready for us."

"That's not - !" The red-haired knight caught herself before she raised her voice and shamed herself. "That is - what my point is, milord, is that the archers could have easily shot us. We were well within shooting range, yet not a single arrow was loosed into the air."

"She's right, milord," Cyllis agreed. "They could have easily shot us down. Given their numbers, precise aiming would not even have been needed. All they had to do was fill the air with their arrows and we would've been killed."

"That is nothing more than an oversight on the Plegians' part due to overconfidence," Frederick firmly said.

Chrom mulled over the pegasus knights' words. Why _didn't_ the Plegians shoot them down? What ulterior motive could they possibly have?

He threw those thoughts into the back of his mind. They wouldn't do anything but make him hesitate. All his life, he was taught that the Plegians had no mercy for any Ylisseans from the royal teachers. Surely they couldn't be wrong.

"That doesn't change the fact that they kidnapped Sumia from under our noses," Chrom finally said. "We move forward."

As the three Pegasus knights fell in line, the Ylisseans continued their march forward. High above them, however, was a raven, which circled the company once before flying west.

 _ **. . .**_

Robin clasped his hands together, and the watery image of the Ylisseans vanished.

"No offense, but your prince seems to be quite thick-headed," Robin said.

"He's always been that way," Sumia lightheartedly sighed.

Sumia was torn inside. While a part of her was ecstatic that her crush, _the_ Prince Chrom, was personally leading a group to retrieve her, the rest of her couldn't help but feel like she royally messed up, pun not intended. This would be just another thing to add to the already tall list of her mishaps.

"I still think that you should've let me shoot down those birdies.".

"For the last time, Henry, no. Shooting dark magic up into the skies where the Ylissean pegasi were flying would not have helped us out in the slightest."

Over on Sumia's left, Robin was once again dissuading a dark mage from wanting to attack her fellow Ylisseans, to which she was thankful for. The pegasus knights that scouted them were most likely members of Commander Phila's group, and though small, there was a chance that Cordelia was amongst them.

 _'Stay safe, Cordelia,'_ Sumia prayed. _'_ _I'll be back home in Ylisse soon. I hope.'_

Sumia suddenly shivered. Goosebumps formed on her skin and she started to feel drained of energy. By chance, she looked down at her feet and saw tendrils of dark magic squirming by her ankles.

"KYAA!"

She shrieked and tried to step away from the dark magic, only for a hand to land on her shoulder and root her to the spot. A woman's face appeared by her ear, just within sight of her peripherals.

"So, Robin, what should we do with this… _Ylissean_?"

The woman's face was close enough that Sumia felt her breath on her ear, and a chill ran down her spine. The woman tightened her grip on her shoulder and placed a finger on her neck.

Robin glanced over for a second. Sumia could've sworn that his eyes narrowed by a fraction, but he turned away to look past the walls and onto the horizon.

"Henry."

"Righty-o, Robin!"

The smiling mage snapped his fingers and the tendrils at Sumia's feet dissipated into black smoke. Warmth returned to Sumia's body, and the fingers on her shoulder loosened up a little.

" _You_ will do nothing, Tharja," Robin answered. "Sumia is a guest here in Plegia, and so we will treat her as such." He turned around and looked at the woman. "Understood?"

Seconds passed as no one moved. Sumia counted the number of her heartbeats as beads of cold sweat rolled down her cheek. Finally, Tharja lifted her finger from Sumia's neck.

"Tch. Fine," Tharja clicked her tongue and retreated a couple of steps.

Sumia immediately backpedaled away from her aggressor. She was shocked to find that Tharja was barely wearing anything. Almost nothing was left to the imagination since what she was wearing was more revealing than standard undergarments with what looked like a transparent bodysuit. Sumia felt embarrassed just from looking at her.

"What's your plan now, Robin?" Henry asked.

"Probably something ridiculous again, I'm sure," a familiar voice rumbled from Sumia's right. She turned and was met by two familiar faces.

"Mustafa. Orton." Robin nodded towards the two men as a greeting. "Good of you to arrive. Now we're just waiting on Gangrel."

"About that, my boy…" Orton scratched the back of his head. "Gangrel won't be able to make it right now."

The advisor raised an eyebrow.

"He's asleep."

"That lazy - " Robin let out a string of incomprehensible curses under his breath. His eyes narrowed as he looked in the direction of the palace. "I swear, I am going to dump all the paperwork onto his desk. Being asleep at a time like this?!"

"Nya ha ha ha!" Next to Robin, Henry was having the time of his life as he was doubled over in laughter. "To be fair, Rob, you _did_ tell him to get some sleep earlier."

"I didn't think he'd actually sleep." Robin shook his head. "Gangrel's the type of person to run around like a child than go to sleep. That or mess around with his shiny sword."

"Once again, you're the one that gave him that sword."

"It was the prize for being the runner-up in the last Feroxi Tournament! He should be grateful I even gave him that!"

As Robin and Henry continued their squabble, Sumia turned to Mustafa. He looked nothing like how he did less than an hour ago when he was only in trousers. Now, he had on a dark silver chestplate and greaves, leaving his arms and thighs bare. Attached to his left shoulder was a skull of some carnivorous animal instead of a standard pauldron.

"What is it, lass?" Mustafa asked her, noticing her gaze.

"A-Ah, umm… I thought you were a peach farmer?"

Orton and Mustafa both laughed, the latter's booming over the former's.

"That's awfully mean of you, old man," Orton wheezed, shaking his head.

"It was not my intent to hide anything from you, and for that, I apologize." Mustafa lowered his head before standing straight. At once, the air around him changed, and he looked a lot more imposing than he did a second ago. "Allow me to formally introduce myself, Knight Sumia of Ylisse. I am High General Mustafa of the Plegian Army, commander of the Southern Legion, and the winner of the past four contests of our Harvest Festival."

Sumia's jaw dropped. General? Commander? She figured Mustafa was someone of rank in Plegia since Robin called for him, but she never thought the man who introduced himself as a peach farmer would hold one of the highest military ranks.

"I'm telling you, I'm going to win the contest," Orton said with confidence, tapping his armored knuckle onto Mustafa's chestplate.

The peach farming general simply chuckled. He opened his mouth to reply, but a large shadow passed over their heads, pulling everyone's attention. The shadow turned out to be Vasto's wyvern, which landed with a dull thud on the wall.

"They're close," Vasto shortly said, giving a quick salute to Mustafa and Robin.

"How close?"

"I am Prince Chrom of Ylisse!"

The voice of the Ylissean Prince could be heard from just over the wall that Sumia was on, and Vasto merely pointed a thumb towards the voice.

" _That_ close."

"Duly noted," Robin snarked, rolling his eyes.

 _'It's Chrom!'_ Sumia could hardly believe it. She knew that Prince Chrom was on the way, but knowing that he was directly outside the Plegian capital's gates was something else entirely. Butterflies fluttered around her stomach… Or they would be, were the situation not so dire.

"I am here to speak with the representative for Plegia!"

Sumia heard a strange sound come from her left, which was Robin doing his best to hold back his laughter. The others around him also had similar reactions, much to her confusion.

"No offense, but…" Robin tossed an amused look her way. "I don't think your prince is familiar with the nuances of diplomacy. What he did just now is a fine way of getting on the bad side of a nation or kingdom."

"What did he do wrong?" Sumia asked, not knowing the ins and outs of diplomacy herself.

Instead of answering her, Robin started to make his way down the stairs leading wall's gates.

"Sumia, stay here. Vasto, inform her of the multiple things that her prince has done wrong in this short amount of time. Mustafa and Orton, follow me. Henry and Tharja, prep a retrieval spell in case things get awry."

The dark mages immediately started to move. Tharja started to trace a large circle on the ground with her finger while Henry took out a tome and started to chant under his breath. Runes appeared above the open pages, and they floated down and inscribed themselves in Tharja's circle.

"So, where to start."

Vasto crossed his arms and leaned against his wyvern. Sumia was so entranced by the dark mages that she momentarily forgot that Prince Chrom had apparently done something wrong.

"What did Prince Chrom do?" She asked again.

"Aside from marching on our capital city with a fairly large group, unannounced, and armed with weapons?" Vasto reached up and scratched the underside of his wyvern's jaw. "When you go to a foreign nation to speak with a person that's in a seat of power, never demand anything. You use a calmer and more courteous tone. Not what he did just now. Instead of saying, _"_ _I am here to speak with the representative of Plegia,"_ he could've said, _"_ _I wish to hold council with one of your speakers."_ Or something like that. I'm not too familiar with formal talk."

The ground beneath her started to rumble as the gates creaked open.

"Anyways, bad manners from an envoy gives the impression that they were not taught how to control their tongue; makes them look immature. It's even worse when the envoy is the prince of a nation." He frowned for a second before continuing. "Guess it's easier to think of it this way. Say you're asking your parents for something. You wouldn't barge into their room and demand it, right? Same concept here. Now, imagine your parents had guests over when you did that, and the impression you would've left on the guests. Not good, is it?"

Sumia's face dropped. The actions of Prince Chrom definitely fit into what Vasto was saying, and she suddenly felt ashamed of Ylisse. She thought of the events that occurred earlier today, from her waking up on a wyvern's back, meeting Robin and learning a little about Plegia, and up to now. She prayed to Naga that the talk between Robin and Chrom would go well.

Suddenly, there was a large surge of movement as the majority of the guards on the wall moved as one. Bows were raised, arrows were nocked, and bowstrings were pulled back.

"YOU COWARD!" An angry voice boomed from below the wall.

"Tch." Vasto clicked his tongue, his fingers tightening around his wyvern's reins. "Guess things took a turn for the worse."

 _ **. . .**_

"Are you sure this is smart, boy?"

"If I didn't, I wouldn't be doing it, would I?"

Robin signaled the guards by the wall and they immediately understood.

"Open the gates!"

A guard on top of the wall turned a metal contraption and the large gates started to rumble. A crack ran down the middle as they split apart and started to open.

"I still think this is a bad idea," Orton grumbled.

"You think all of my ideas are bad."

"Because they are."

"Name one."

"I'll name you five. Elder's Day from two years ago. Nearly getting your head chomped off by a wild wyvern. Falling off the clock tower's roof. Setting the entire southwestern fields ablaze. _Creating that giant chasm by the shores of Erishgal_."

"None of those were completely my fault."

"They were _all_ your fault."

"Semantics. Anyways…" Robin lazily waved his hand. "Let's go greet our visitors."

The three walked out the walls of the Eastern Gate and into the great desert. The Ylisseans were standing in a group with their prince in the front. A single glance was all it took to know that the prince, along with the younger members of his group, were quite inexperienced in fighting. They were in what they considered to be enemy territory, yet none of them looked alert. Instead, they looked a little scared and much too anxious.

There was only a handful of Ylissean knights that looked combat ready, most of whom looked almost three times Robin's age. He guessed that most of them were veterans of the previous war. The only one that wasn't old was a knight in white and blue armor that stood protectively next to the prince. Said knight was also glaring daggers at Robin.

"In Ylisse, it is considered rude to keep your guests waiting," the knight spat.

"In Plegia and every single other nation that I've been to, it is considered both rude and hostile to bring an armed force into a foreign land without permission," Robin calmly countered. Placing his hands behind his back so that the Ylisseans wouldn't be able to see, he started to weave mana between his fingers. "Unless such aggressive actions are common in Ylisse? A place where the ruler supposedly speaks of peace and unity?"

The entire group shifted on their feet and the knight's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Watch your words, _Plegian_ ," the knight hissed. "You stand in the presence of Prince - "

"Prince Chrom of Ylisse, younger sibling to the exalt and older sibling to Princess Lissa," Robin finished. He finished his mageweave and transferred the mana onto the ground beneath his feet. "Normally, he would be the exalt in place of your current one due to Ylisse being a patriarchy, but he firmly refused on a number of occasions. He was also too young when the previous exalt passed, so Exalt Emmeryn took up the mantle."

The Ylisseans looked shocked at Robin's knowledge of their home. The knight, however, looked incredibly suspicious, and his hand drifted towards his spear.

"How do you know all this? You sent a spy into Ylisse!" the knight accusingly spat.

Robin couldn't help but laugh. Figures that'd be the knight's first thought.

"A spy? No no no, my dear knight." Robin calmly spread out his hands. Doing so also finished his part of the transfer magic for Henry and Tharja as a near-invisible magic circle appeared on the ground. There was a small nudge in the back of his mind, confirming that Henry was ready to teleport the three of them back at Robin's signal. "I wouldn't dare do such a thing to tamper with our already fragile relationship. All I did was a bit of research and took a little history lesson on my own time. Nothing too difficult."

"Robin," Mustafa warned, taking notice of Robin's condescending tone. Despite the words that were being spoken, the tone in which he spoke could easily be misunderstood as provocative, and Robin was fully aware of that.

"Let's cut to the chase, shall we?" Robin suggested. "What brings the Ylissean prince all the way out here to the capital city of Plegia? And on such short notice?"

"Introduce yourselves first, Plegian, and then we shall speak," the blue knight seethed.

"Of course, how rude of me," Robin replied. He felt his patience waning but kept a smile on his face. He motioned over to his right and Mustafa took a step forward. "This is Mustafa, High General of Plegia and commander of the southern forces. This man here…" He looked over at Orton. "…is Knight-Captain Orton, the leader of an elite group of wyvern riders."

"And you?" The knight glared at Robin. "You do not dress like royalty, yet you stand in front of ranking members of your military despite being younger than them."

"My name is Robin," he said with a graceful bow. "Lord Strategist of the Plegian Army, Chief Advisor to our king, Gangrel, and his right hand. It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

The entire group of Ylisseans looked dumbstruck upon hearing Robin's titles. A few of them tightened their grips on their weapons. The hostile knight, however, narrowed his eyes even further and pointed his spear at Robin. Horrified gasps rippled through their ranks, and before anyone could do anything, the knight single-handedly threw his fate, his liege's fate, and the fate of all the Ylisseans into Robin's hands.

"Frederick, don't - " Prince Chrom started, but his voice went unheard.

"You? The king's personal advisor and right hand? At your age? Do not lie to me, Plegian. Or are all of you deceiving scum?"

A shocked silence filled the air. Every head turned to look at the knight. The knight also realized his error of insulting and pointing his spear at the representative of the nation that they willingly entered.

"Watch your words, _Ylissean_ ," Robin repeated the knight's words from earlier back at him. "I could have you all dead within seconds, and no one would be the wiser."

"You wouldn't dare…"

"Would I not? I have full reason to." Robin's voice lost its playfulness and was replaced by a threatening tone.

"Lord Strategist, please wait a - " Prince Chrom made an attempt to ease the tension in the air, but Robin ignored him and continued to speak uninterrupted.

"You walk into _our_ territory unannounced, with an armed group, no less, send your pegasus knights ahead to…what would be the term that you would use? Spy? Yes, that works. You send them to _spy_ on us, demand things of us, and then adamantly disrespect some of the highest ranking members in Plegia. You even raised your weapon at the king's advisor. Any other kingdom, nation, or land would've had you all executed on the spot. Plegia is no different."

To prove his point, Robin raised his arm and motioned forward with his fingers. There was a thunderous clap as every guard posted up on the eastern wall moved as one, drawing their bow and taking aim at the Ylisseans.

"And all of this would have no consequence to us Plegians," Robin continued. "You Ylisseans were the ones that trespassed into our land with weapons. Such notions could easily be seen as an act of aggression, and if you die here, no one would question us as to why."

"YOU COWARD!" Frederick roared.

Robin let out a sigh and boredly looked at Prince Chrom. "Prince, reign in your dog before he truly tests my patience. If not, this will mark the second time that our nations go to war, and it will also be the second time that Ylisse is the one to ignite the sparks."

"Second time?" Prince Chrom asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't know?" Robin crossed his arms. "The previous war between Ylisse and Plegia was sparked by your late father. We of Plegia had done nothing to provoke your king. We lived in peace. That is until, one day, your king invades our land with an army and starts indiscriminately massacring our people.

"Compare that to what's going on now. For almost two decades, all we've been doing is rebuild our nation. Not once have we done anything to draw your attention. Not once has an armed Plegian passed through your borders. Not once have we done anything to instigate a war, nor do we wish for one."

At this, one of the pegasus knights took a step forward. "You say that, yet you had an army mobilize in less than a quarter of an hour. How can you explain that if you weren't looking for a war?"

"Quite simple, my lady knight," Robin gracefully replied. "Before that, I trust your flight back from viewing our capital went well?"

"O-Oh, umm, yes. Thank you for asking?" The pegasus knight's voice trailed off towards the end, surprised and confused at Robin's courtesy.

"To answer your question, there was an old text that I came across a long time ago. It read, _'A wise king never seeks out war, but -_ "

" - _but must always be prepared for it',_ " Chrom finished.

Robin tilted his head in mild interest. "So you know it. There's your answer. That's why our army was on standby. Which now brings us back to my original question. What brings you and your group of armed soldiers to our doorstep, Prince Chrom?"

"R-Right…" Chrom stood up straight. "We've received a report that one of our knights was…taken from Ylisse. The last sighting of her was past our borders."

"There is no need to kite around the subject, Prince Chrom. You mean there's a kidnapping, and you think we're the ones that did it," Robin blatantly said.

"Well…yes."

"Kidnapping is something that is severely looked down upon on in Plegia. If caught, the perpetrator and company are sentenced to a lengthy solitude in our cells," Robin explained.

"Even if the kidnapper is someone of high rank or status?" Frederick accusingly asked.

"A crime is a crime, sir knight. Social status has no meaning in these matters, and I assure you, we have not kidnapped anyone."

"And why should we believe you?"

"Frederick!" Chrom threw a glare over at his knight. "Enough!"

"No no, actually, he's right in not trusting me. After all, you seem to view us in a very distasteful light," Robin pointed out. "If you all believed everything I said, then I would have considered you all to be even more naïve than I originally thought."

"You would insult us by calling us naïve?"

Ignoring Frederick, Chrom took a step forward. "Our border guards saw our missing knight walk into Plegia. Surely you must've heard something about that."

"That I have."

"But you just said that you didn't know of any Ylissean knight."

"I said that I haven't heard of any _kidnapped_ knight, not a lost knight. You spoke of two different things, my prince," Robin said.

"Is she safe?" One of the pegasus knights suddenly asked, lifting her helmet's visor.

"You will hold your tongue, recruit Cordelia!" The lead pegasus knight hissed.

Cordelia flinched at her ranking officer's words. "M-My apologies, Squad Leader Cyllis. It will not happen again."

"See that it does not," was Cyllis's stern reply.

 _'Quite harsh,'_ Robin silently noted. _'_ _And a little hypocritical since she technically spoke out of line earlier.'_

"What do you mean by not kidnapping her?" Chrom asked, seemingly ignoring the pegasus knights' outbursts.

"I mean exactly that. What was it that the border guards told you? That they saw your knight walk into Plegia?" Robin recalled. "Before I even get started on why they didn't bother to stop her from entering a territory that all of you consider to be hostile, let me ask you this: do you know what happens to most people when they wander into a desert unprepared?"

Chrom shook his head. "No."

"They die. Not from bandits or wild beasts, no. Dying to them would be considered lucky in the vast majority of cases. The fate of women is worse when they're captured by bandits. I'm sure you all can take a guess as to what bandits do to their captured women, but I digress. Most wanderers die from dehydration and heatstroke, and I can assure you that those two methods of dying are not pleasant in the slightest. The sands of Plegia is not a forgiving place."

As he spoke, Robin observed the Ylisseans' reactions. In particular, he was watching Prince Chrom and the reprimanded pegasus knight, Cordelia, who Robin guessed to be a close friend of Sumia's since she was the first to ask about Sumia's wellbeing. As he expected, their expressions turned into one of both shock and worry.

Just when he was about to tell them that Sumia was found by Vasto's night patrol, there was a yell from behind him.

"Captain!"

 _'Who's a captain now?'_ Robin turned his head to the source of the voice.

Vasto's wyvern was approaching the group. On its back was its Vasto, who had a disturbed look on his face. A head poked out from behind Vasto, and Robin inadvertently pinched the bridge of his nose.

 _'Gods be damned…'_

"What is the meaning of this, Plegian?! Using a cowardly trick in a surprise attempt to kill us?" Multiple veins of anger popped up on Frederick's forehead as he came to a wrong conclusion.

Robin groaned. "You thickheaded buffoon… Did you already forget about the archers up on the wall? Why in the world would I send a lone wyvern if I could - "

"Hold, Sergeant Emile! Do not attack - "

There was a soft _thud_ followed by a searing hot pain in his chest. He looked down to see the shaft of an arrow sticking out a couple of inches from his heart. He looked back up just as something flew by his vision; a lengthy piece of wood with a piece of metal attached to one end.

"VASTO, EVADE!"

His warning was too late. Given the short distance between the spear and Vasto's wyvern along with the speed in which the two were moving at, there would be no way for Vasto to dodge the spear. Ignoring the immense pain in his chest, Robin threw out a gust of wind, but in his haste, the magic was both weak and inaccurate. Fortunately, it was just enough to veer it off to the side, and instead of piercing the wyvern's neck, the spear lodged itself in its wing.

The wyvern cried out in pain. It desperately flapped its wings in an attempt to stay up in the air only to come crashing down onto the sands below.

"Vasto! Sumia!"

Robin grabbed onto the arrow in his chest and yanked it out. A quick cast of a flame spell later, and Robin cauterized the hole to stop the bleeding.

"Sumia?"

"Did he just say _"_ _Sumia"_?"

"So they did take her!"

"You two, relieve the sergeant of his weapons and bind his hands. As of now, he is discharged from military service and will face punishment back in Ylisse for insubordination."

"Damn you, princeling! Why do you not attack?! Now is the perfect time to rid us of these demons!"

Ignoring the Ylisseans (he'd deal with them soon enough), Robin ran over to the fallen wyvern. He was vaguely aware that Mustafa and Orton were following him, but his current concern was Vasto, his wyvern, and Sumia. The height in which they fell from wasn't his biggest worry. If either Vasto or Sumia somehow ended up beneath the wyvern, they would easily be crushed to death from the wyvern's weight.

As he approached, he allowed himself to let out a sigh of relief. The wyvern was already rising onto its feet by pushing off of its good wing. Under that very wing was Vasto and Sumia, and Robin quickly surmised that the wyvern tucked its passengers in its wing to keep them safe as it took the brunt of the fall.

"Good girl," Robin praised, rubbing the underside of the wyvern's neck, and the wyvern cooed in response.

He then looked over at Vasto and Sumia. Both looked to be unharmed, which was good, but neither of them were moving. Unconscious? Probably. It was a miracle that there weren't any limbs pointing in the wrong direction. And then there was a cough.

"Tch…the hell was that about…"

"Vasto! You're alive!" Orton exclaimed.

"Obviously, since I'm talking," Vasto groaned. "How's Anja?"

Orton took a close look at the spear that pierced the wyvern's wing. "She got lucky. Spear landed between the ulna and radius. Doubt there'll any permanent damage."

Vasto took in a deep breath. "That's good. Also, mind if you take this woman off of me? I can't feel my - thanks, Robin."

"No problem," Robin replied, picking Sumia up and gently placing her on the ground. "How are you feeling?"

"Could be worse. Arms feel numb. Back hurts. Head's throbbing." Vasto did his best to point his chin at Sumia. "How is she?"

Robin checked for a pulse. "Not dead, if that's what you're wondering. Most likely passed out from shock."

"Figures. Thought she was going to burst my eardrum as we were falling."

Rapid footsteps approached from behind them before abruptly coming to a halt when Mustafa barred their path with his axe. The sounds of swords being drawn and spears unslung rang through the air as the Ylisseans drew their weapons and glared at Mustafa.

"I would ask you to move, High General. That's a knight of Ylisse over there. The very one we were searching for."

"I'm aware, Prince Chrom," Mustafa said. "However, I cannot allow you to take a step further."

"Why not? What if I don't listen and do take a step forward?" Chrom challenged. His tone made it obvious that his anger was rising to his head.

There was a sudden increase in the gravity's pull. A murky red portal opened up next to Mustafa and Henry walked out with a chilling smile on his face.

"Then I'll just have to paint this entire area red with your blood!"

Henry flicked his wrist and the portal vanished behind him, restoring the gravity to normal. Purple flames flickered to life all around his body like an aura.

"To translate into simpler terms, if you come any closer I will use force to prevent you from proceeding," Mustafa warned. "While I may not aim to take your life, I cannot say the same for Henry."

"That's right! I want you all dead right now!" Henry nodded.

"Wh-What?! Why?!" Chrom blurted out.

"You attacked two of my best friends, you know? Can't just let you off after that," Henry maniacally laughed. "Don't worry. I'll make it quick and painless. I think. I've never been on the receiving end of my implosion magic, but I'm really curious how it feels. Maybe one of you will survive and will be able to tell me."

"You threaten the life of our prince, Plegians. That sounds like a declaration of war," Frederick spat.

"It is too late for any declaration of war, sir knight." Mustafa shook his head. "The moment you attacked our vice-captain and our king's hand, you threw away your chance for a diplomatic solution. Hostilities have already begun."

"You can't be serious! This is madness!" Chrom practically yelled.

Robin stood to his feet and faced the Ylisseans. Some looked outraged. Some looked shocked at Mustafa's words. Some looked as if they were moments away from attacking Mustafa and Henry on the spot. In the very back bound by his hands was one of the older knights. A quiver of arrows was on his back and he was not holding any weapon, and Robin instantly figured out that this was the sergeant, Emile, that shot the arrow and threw the spear.

"Is it?" Robin asked. "I don't think it is."

The prince looked perplexed as did the others. "What do you mean?"

Robin pointed at the cauterized wound on this chest. It took a second, but Chrom's eyes widened in shock as it dawned on him.

"How can it be madness when you've openly attacked us?"

"Wait, Lord Robin, this has to be a - "

" - a misunderstanding?" Robin guessed, his voice cold and distant. "There is nothing that can be misunderstood here, prince. You invaded our land unannounced with an armed group. That alone is enough to start a war, and I was kind enough to let it slide for the sake of peace. But then your men attacked one of my vice-captains, wounding him, and fired an arrow that was inches away from piercing my heart. Due to a certain cultural circumstance, I hold more power than the king of Plegia, and I'm sure your brain can figure out how badly you messed up. You're lucky my archers didn't turn your entire group into pin cushions already."

Robin snapped his fingers and the archers up on the wall took aim once more. Unease swept through the group of Ylisseans as they looked up at the countless archers. It would only take a single order and arrows would rain from the sky. With no way to defend themselves and nothing to hide behind, they would all be dead within seconds.

"I will have to ask you to leave now, Ylisseans. This is your only warning."

"Wait, what?" Henry frowned at Robin. "Are you really gonna let them go?"

"Yes."

"Really? After they shot you with an arrow, speared Anja mid-flight, and almost killed Vasto?"

"Yes, Henry."

"Aww…" Henry pouted and looked down at his feet, but his fiery aura remained.

Robin looked back at Chrom. "What say you, Prince of Ylisse? Will you die here and become food for the vultures and maggots? Or will you take my offer and return home?"

"…What about Sumia?" Chrom hopefully asked.

"She is to be a prisoner of war," Robin bluntly said. "Given the situation, I trust you have no qualms with this?"

A long silence passed. During that time, different expressions appeared on Prince Chrom's face, ranging from confusion, to anger, and then to defeat.

"I wish that this ended differently, my prince. I really do. I had planned for us to end this on pleasant terms, and for our nations to work together in peace," Robin earnestly said. "Unfortunately, your inability to control your own men has destroyed any chances of this. Their actions reflect upon you. As much as I may want to, I cannot overlook a direct attack on our nation and people."

"I-I understand. Thank you for your time."

Chrom gave a light bow to Robin. After giving one last look towards Sumia, who was still unconscious, he forced himself to turn around and walk. The rest his group turned to follow with the exception of one. Cordelia was rooted to the spot, visibly shaking as the others left. Whether she was shaking from anger, regret, or sorrow, Robin didn't know.

"Three days," Robin suddenly said.

Cordelia looked up and Chrom turned around to face Robin.

"You have three days to prepare your forces," Robin said. "On the fourth morning from today, our nations will officially be at war once more."

 ** _. . ._**

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Welcome to another chapter of "Watch How Number Completely Wings a Story Because Everything is Thought Up on the Spot!"**

 **Jk. Sorta. I have like...four(?) different outcomes on this story. Problem is figuring out which one I like best and sticking to that. Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.**

 **Thank you to all who followed, favorited, and reviewed. I truly appreciate it. While I may not be replying to them [reviews] as I do in _Another Awakening_ , know that I do read them. Until next time.**


	5. Of Different Perspectives

A Wind tome was thrown across the room. Narrowly missing Henry's head, the tome hit the wall behind him where it discharged a blade of wind, leaving a deep gash in the wall.

"Damn it!"

A table near the back of the room cracked as Robin's fist slammed onto it. The force caused another couple of books to fall onto the floor along with a few of his papers, but Robin either didn't see it or didn't care. Most likely the latter, given the situation.

Robin's rage wasn't something that was often seen. In fact, in the fourteen years that Henry knew Robin, this would mark the sixth time that he made his anger visibly known to others.

"Peace, Robin," Mustafa gently said from next to Henry. "There is nothing that you could've done to prevent this outcome."

"This war could have easily been avoided had I not been such a fool!" Robin bitterly said. "Had I not wasted time, had I simply gone straight to the negotiations and invited the Ylisseans to the palace, ALL of this could've been avoided!"

"And do you really believe that the Ylisseans would have willingly entered the capital city of Plegia with their small numbers?" Mustafa asked. "From what I've seen, none of the Ylisseans had an inkling of sense. Those two knights especially would not have agreed to enter the city due to their zealotry. They would have suspected it to be a trap of sorts, to kill the prince in our city's walls."

Robin slumped into his chair and held his head in his hands. "Gods damn it…"

A strained smile was on Henry's face as he looked at his friend. He really didn't like seeing Robin like this. The Robin in front of him now was not the esteemed Lord Strategist of Plegia. He wasn't the king's right hand. He wasn't the man who practically pulled Plegia out of the ground alone.

The Robin that was in front of him now was just…Robin. The Robin that he first met over a decade ago, before he became the King's Hand. The Robin that saw himself as an abomination after learning he was Grima's vessel. The Robin that didn't care about anything, including his own life. The Robin that Henry grew up with, both physically and mentally.

And to see the Robin of the past once more almost made Henry drop his smile. After all, a sad Robin was a no-fun Robin.

The door to Robin's study opened and Gangrel and Orton stepped inside. Both of them raised a curious eyebrow at the ruined wall to their right but didn't say anything. Instead, the king simply closed the door and walked towards the center of the room while Orton leaned against the wall.

"Looks like I'll have to buy a new table," Gangrel grunted, noticing the large crack that nearly split Robin's desk in two. "Do you know how difficult it is to get ebony from Aunas? The people there are so clingy and protective of their trees that it's almost insane!"

"What is it, Gangrel? I'm sure you didn't come here without a reason," Robin grumbled from behind his hands.

"Yeesh, you're welcome for trying to lift the mood a little," Gangrel huffed. He took in a deep breath. "The people are gathered in the square. You're up. I've said what I could about the situation, but you've always been the better public speaker than I."

"…"

Orton's brow furrowed in concern from Robin's silence. "If you'd like, I can tell the people to wait a little longer until you're ready."

"…No, it's fine."

Taking a deep breath, Robin slowly stood to his feet. In an instant, his face hardened and the anger and sadness in his facial expression disappeared. Mostly. However, the traces of the emotions from earlier were so faint that only those that knew Robin on a personal level would be able to notice it.

"Let's go," Robin stoically said.

There was a brief moment of hesitation from Henry, but before anyone said anything, he flicked his wrist. The room flashed once, and then everyone was whisked away in a red portal.

 _ **. . .**_

Quite often, one's upbringing will define the way in which they view the world. For instance, if a boy is told that A is right and B is wrong throughout his childhood, then that rule of A being right and B being wrong will root itself deeply within his mind. That mentality will influence the boy's decisions as he grows up on matters related to A and B, even if he himself is not aware of it, due to the simple teachings as a child.

On the other side of the coin, if a boy is told that A is wrong and B is right throughout his childhood, then his mentality would be the exact opposite of the first boy's. And unless either boy is shown hard proof that their mindset is in the wrong, then they'll live the entirety of their lives thinking that their respective teachings were correct. But, even if they are shown proof, their minds may end up refusing said proof.

This was the situation that Chrom was currently in. His entire life, he was taught that Plegia was a malicious, hate-filled nation, whose sole wish was to bring back their Fell God and bring ruin upon the world. He was told that it was a barbaric nation with people that were more beast than men. A place where the king and his people harbored a seething hatred for Ylisse for what his late father did to them.

And in a matter of a few minutes, his entire view on both Ylisse and Plegia was turned upside down. His trip to Plegia, which was originally intended to be a rescue mission of sorts, quickly became nothing more than a talk between him and Plegia's representative. That is until it spiraled out of control. Chrom may be a prince, but even he wasn't so prideful to turn a blind eye to what Frederick and Emile, _his_ knights, did.

There was a soft knock at his door. Straightening his back, Chrom took a moment to clear his throat before answering the door.

"Yes?"

"Chrom? You wished to speak with me?"

"Yeah. Come on in, Emm."

He stepped aside and held the door ajar, and Emmeryn walked into the room. They both sat down - Chrom on his bed and Emmeryn on one of his desk tables. Time trickled along while neither of the two said a word. One was patiently waiting for the other to speak, while said other was trying to gather his thoughts into something of a cohesive mess, at the very least. Finally, Chrom took in a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I messed up, Emm. Bad." Chrom held his head in his hands.

"Frederick already informed me of the events that occurred in Plegia," Emmeryn said, causing Chrom to flinch. "However, I wish to hear it from your perspective. As we both know, Frederick is loyal to a fault, and I'm afraid his bias has heavily influenced his view."

The room was silent once more for a few seconds. Finally, Chrom lowered his hands and looked at his sister.

"How do you do it, Emm? How do you know what's wrong and what's right when making decisions?" He took in a deep breath. "In Plegia, I - I thought… Aren't we the good guys? Aren't the Plegians...isn't it a nation where they want Grima to return? Aren't they the bad guys, and aren't Ylisseans on the side of good?"

"Chrom." Emmeryn's gaze turned sharp briefly before softening. "The world is not like how it is depicted in stories. There is no true good or evil, no right and wrong, no good guys and bad guys. The world is not as black and white as you think it is.

"But - "

Emmeryn raised her hand to silence her brother. "Most of the world is blanketed in a sheet of grey with only tiny specks of black and white here and there, but even those are only lighter and darker shades of grey. What we think to be black and white is only a matter of our own views - our own perspectives." She was silent for a couple seconds, letting her words sink in. "Chrom, when you were in Plegia, who were the "Plegians"?"

"What do you mean?"

"Plegia is a ruthless nation with their people being brusque monsters, all of whom hold a deep hatred for Ylisse. It is a nation of thieves, bandits, and brigands, all led by a mad king. It is said that they would stop at nothing to kill others, even if it is fellow kin. At least, that is what is being taught today in Ylisse." Emmeryn took in a shaky breath. "Tell me, brother, who were ones that acted like the Ylisse's definition of Plegians? Was it them? Or was it us?"

Chrom clenched his hand so tightly that he nearly tore his skin open. He knew the answer to his sister's question. He knew that his men, Ylisseans that were born and raised in the halidom, were the ones that were the instigators. He knew that the Plegians he met, Robin especially, were the rational ones. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

 _"How_ _can it be madness when you've openly attacked us?"_

Robin's words rang clearly in Chrom's head.

 _"You_ _invaded our land unannounced with an armed group. That alone is enough to start a war, and I was kind enough to let it slide for the sake of peace."_

He couldn't remember how many times Robin reminded Chrom of his group entering Plegia and how it would provoke a war under any other circumstance. What was the point in repeating those words again and again? Surely once was enough, and maybe twice if he really wanted to make a point. So, what was it? What was the point that Robin was trying to get across?

 _"I had planned for us to…work together in peace."_

Chrom suddenly shot to his feet. There's no way that it could be true, right? The idea was so outlandish that it'd be impossible. Unless… Unless the king's strategist was actually telling the truth? If he was lying, then Chrom would be putting not only his own life in danger but the life of his sister as well. Ylisse and Plegia weren't at war yet, so a messenger wouldn't be harmed if sent.

But what would be the chances? Would the Plegians keep their word? Would Robin allow a messenger to stay unharmed only days before the nations go to war once more?

"Emm, I have…" Chrom ran his fingers through his hair. "Gods, I can't believe that I'm saying this right now. I have an idea. I don't know if it'll work or not, but - "

He never had a chance to speak his mind as there was a knock on his door.

"Lady Emmeryn? Are you in there?"

"Come in, Phila," Chrom sighed, and the Commander stepped inside. His idea would have to be put on hold for now.

Once she closed the door behind her, Phila bowed to both Emmeryn and Chrom.

"My deepest apologies for the interruption, but I'm afraid this is a bit of an emergency."

"What happened?" Chrom and Emmeryn both asked simultaneously.

Even though Phila had her hands behind her back, the tautness in her shoulders and posture was not missed by the siblings. The fact that the Commander was this on edge did not bode well.

"It would seem that one of our pegasus knights…"

 _ **. . .**_

"…is headed our way? This late into the evening?"

"Yeah, flying pretty slow. And she bears a peace flag. Dunno what for, though."

A tired groan escaped Robin as he massaged his temples. He then rubbed his eyes as he attempted to wipe away the weariness he was feeling. Keyword: attempted.

"…Alright. East?"

Vasto gave a silent nod and Robin groaned once more.

Despite the protests from his bones and muscles, Robin dropped the small stack of papers in his hands while rising to his feet and stretched. A multitude of popping noises resounded from his back, followed by a slightly satisfied sigh. After sending out a pulse of dark magic, he looked to Vasto's left where a woman with pink hair was standing.

"Felicia, have you received a reply from the either the Duke of Rosanne or the Khans of Ferox?"

"Y-Yes, milord! Both of them have agreed to your requests. Duke Virion has said that he'll be at Regna Ferox come tomorrow's morn."

"I see. Thank you for relaying the messages back and forth."

"It was nothing, milord! Just doing my job, you know?"

"It may be nothing much to you, but you doing that helps me out in more ways you know, Felicia. Don't think so little of yourself," Robin gently said.

"Th-Thank you, milord." Felicia quickly bowed and strode out of Robin's study. Not even a second after the door closed behind her, there was a loud crash along with a horrified, "Oh no, not again!"

"Never fails to surprise me, that girl," Vasto grunted. "Even with nothing there, she can make something go off."

A grin tugged at Robin's lips. "Yet you're always nearby her when you're off duty. How's your back?"

"Good enough to walk. Healers said not to do anything strenuous. Ready to go?"

 _'He avoided mentioning why he sticks so close to her,'_ Robin noticed.

There was another pulse of dark magic, but this one was not sent out by Robin.

 _'Heya, Rob! Whatcha need?'_

 _'Transport. Is your warp circle from this morning still there?'_

 _'Mmm…'_ Henry was silent for a brief moment. _'…Yup! Still there! Has like…I'd say less than an hour before it fades? Sorta? I think? You needa go there?'_

 _'Yeah. One of the Ylissean pegasus knights is headed our way with peace flag. I'm going to meet her.'_

There was another pause from Henry. When he finally replied, his voice had lost its most of its usual cheer.

 _'…Do I get a say in the matter?'_

 _'Who's going to receive the knight? Gangrel, Mustafa, Orton, and Tharja are all getting ready for the war in two days time.'_

 _'You know I don't like this plan, and that's rare from me. You know that. You were hit by an arrow that nearly killed you, Grima's protection or not.'_

 _'I'm well aware of this, Henry. It's a lone pegasus knight and I'll have Vasto with me, so I don't think she'll try anything.'_

 _'He's wounded!'_

 _'Vasto is still better than no one, and in case you've forgotten, I'm a capable fighter myself. Plegia and Ylisse aren't at war yet, so I will show the knight hospitality.'_

More silence.

 _'Fine, fine. Have Vasto put his hand on your shoulder. I'll teleport you two onto the eastern wall.'_

 _'Thank you, Henry.'_

Robin motioned over to Vasto, who walked over and placed his hand on Robin. A second later, Robin's vision was covered by a murky red cloud. The coolness of his study vanished as he felt a sense of vertigo, and then the red vanished as quickly as it appeared as a blast of desert wind hit him in the face.

There was a dry heave from Vasto.

"Never gonna get used to that…" Vasto grumbled, and Robin couldn't help but chuckle.

"Lord Strategist and Vice Captain on grounds!" a guard bellowed.

As one, every soldier on the eastern wall snapped into a salute. One of the guards walked up to Robin and Vasto before stopping and crossing his right and left arm across his chest and back respectively.

"At ease, sergeant," Robin said, and the soldiers lowered their arms. "I was told that there was a Ylissean pegasus knight on the way. Where is - oh."

He peered over towards the horizon and spotted the distinct shape of a pegasus in the distance. Judging from the lack of grace from the pegasus's wings, Robin took a guess that it was tired and flew nonstop from Ylisse.

"Your orders, sir?" the sergeant asked.

"Stand down but stay alert. Have one of your men bring a bucket of clean water," Robin commanded. "I told the Ylissean prince that our nations would be on a ceasefire until the fourth morn, and I fully intend to keep my word."

"Sir!" The sergeant saluted once more and began barking orders to his men. One of them quickly ran off towards the nearest watchtower while the others returned to their original posts.

"What's your plan, Robin?" Vasto asked.

"…To be completely honest?" Robin raised his hand into the air and shot out a fireball. The flames rose into the skies before detonating into a shower of sparks, which would be very difficult for someone to miss if they were looking in its direction, even with the glaring sunset behind him. "I have absolutely no idea. I'll just be thinking of things as I go along, the first being taking care of her pegasus."

"If she lets you, that is," Vasto grunted. "Dunno how it is for pegasus knights, but I wouldn't let a stranger take care of Anja. Mainly cause she'd bite 'em in half."

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Robin dismissively said. "For now, let's greet our guest."

It didn't take long for the pegasus knight to land on the wall. The Plegian soldiers had given her a wide berth to land without much difficulty and the moment the pegasus' hooves touched the ground, it nearly keeled over from exhaustion.

The knight wasn't faring much better. Her movements were sluggish when to dropped down from her partner, and when she knelt in front of Robin, the action was more akin to one collapsing onto one knee. The white flag never left her hand during the entire time.

"What brings you back out into Plegia, Knight Cordelia?"

The knight briefly looked up before quickly lowering her head once more.

"It honors me for you to have remembered my name, Lord Robin. I do not deserve such recognition," Cordelia replied, her head still lowered.

"Considering how there were only five names that were thrown around, it wasn't too difficult to remember. There was Frederick, the knight in blue that seemed to be the prince's personal guard, Cyllis, the other pegasus knight that yelled at you for stepping out of line even though she did the very same thing minutes prior, Emile, the one that shot the arrow and threw the spear, Prince Chrom, and lastly, you," Robin counted off on his fingers.

"I apologize for the unsightly behavior and actions against you and your people."

"You have nothing to apologize for. The blame lies solely upon your prince and offending knight, both of whom are not present," Robin said. "You, on the other hand, have shown more cordiality in your few seconds here than the previously mentioned knights during our entire talk. That alone speaks volumes." He grimaced as a blast of the evening's dry wind washed over them. "In any case, this wall is no place to talk. Come, let us talk more inside the castle. You are tired and your pegasus requires rest, not to mention the sun will set in less than an hour."

The discomfort in her eyes did not go unnoticed by Robin even from through the visor.

"While I'd like to say that you need not worry about your pegasus, I realize that is nigh impossible. What I _can_ do, however, is try and attempt to ease your worries," Robin continued. At that moment, the soldier that ran off earlier came back with a pail in his hands. "Our stablemaster is quite familiar with pegasi. While we of Plegia breed wyverns, we get visitors from Rosanne frequently, so I can assure you that your pegasus will be handled with care."

Cordelia reluctantly nodded and rose onto shaky feet. Robin extended his hand towards her, and she grabbed it. Unbeknownst to her, there was a small gem in his palm, and the moment Cordelia's skin made contact with the gem, Robin activated the magic within it. A bright light escaped from the cracks between their fingers as the teleportation magic took place, bringing them back to the main hall of Plegia Castle, just like it was made to do.

"What was that?!" Cordelia immediately dropped her flag reached for her spear on her back. Her eyes widened when her hands grasped at nothing, having momentarily forgotten that she left her spear with her pegasus. With no other choice, she took up a very awkward defensive pose with her arms.

"Peace, Knight Cordelia," Robin said, raising his hands in placating gesture. The last shards of the teleportation gem scattered into wisps of light as he did so. "What I did just now was save us the long walk from the wall to the castle."

"…How?"

Robin reached into one of his inner pockets and took out a bright green gem. "With these. Gems imbued with a touch of warp dust and magic, designed to bring the user back to this very spot we're standing whenever it is used. Useful, isn't it?" He then started to walk away after pocketing the gem. "I'd rather much be seated whilst talking with someone, wouldn't you?"

There was only a moment of hesitation before Robin heard Cordelia start to follow him. Vasto's footsteps could be heard a second later, wordlessly telling him that he'd be ready to restrain the pegasus knight if need be. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

As they walked, Robin sighed at the current situation. What was originally supposed to be a meeting with the Exalt turned into this annoying fiasco. What was to be peace turned into a war. With luck, his plans would work properly and end the war within a manner of days.

"So, I ask once again; what brings you to Plegia, lady knight?" Robin asked over his shoulder. "Given the rocky state our two nations are in at the moment, us being on the brink of war being a huge factor, I thought you'd be with Ylisse."

"I…" There was a brief pause before Cordelia was able to find her voice. "Sumia - the Ylissean prisoner of war… Is she here?"

"If you are asking if she is in Plegia, then yes, she is," Robin answered.

"How is she? Is she unharmed? How are her injuries from her fall off the wyvern?"

A smile formed Robin's face, though Cordelia was unable to see it since she was behind him. His first assumption on the two of them being friends was correct, and Robin was relieved to see it. Such camaraderie was a hard find in this day and age.

However, Robin didn't answer immediately. Instead, he continued to walk for a few more seconds before turning one last corner. "Why ask me for your companion's current condition when you could see for yourself?"

Stopping by one of the doors in the hall, Robin knocked twice. There was a feminine "Come in" from inside the room, and Robin opened the door.

Then quickly closed it not even a second later with his eyes shut.

"Chari? Is that you?" the feminine voice asked.

Robin let out a sigh. "No, I am not Chari. I am Robin."

"Oh…OH!"

Hurried footsteps could be heard through the door, and Robin could only guess that Sumia was scrambling around the room. This continued while Robin, Vasto, and Cordelia waited in the hall. A minute later, Sumia's muffled voice could be heard once more.

"Y-You can come in now."

"Are you decent?" Robin slowly asked.

"…Y-Yes…"

Robin looked at Cordelia and pushed the door slightly ajar. He motioned for her to enter first, and she moved with a bit of hesitation in her steps. The distrust in her eyes was very apparent, but there was also some familiarity and hope from the voice she heard inside the room.

After another moment's worth of hesitation, Cordelia stepped inside.

"Is there something…that you…need…?" There was the smallest of gasps. "C-Cordelia?"

Robin made the mistake of walking into the room behind Cordelia, and Vasto behind him. Not even a second after Robin passed the door frame, he saw a rush of violet crash into the knight from the front, causing the knight to be thrown backward. Said action made Cordelia's helmeted head slam into Robin's unarmored head, which in turn, caused Robin's unarmored head to slam into Vasto's armored one.

The sudden rattling of his brain inside his skull was somehow the last thing he felt before his vision blacked out.

 _ **. . .**_

Chrom groaned as he stepped out of the wash, shivering from the sharp cold that immediately attacked him.

"Naga above, it's freezing…" Chrom grumbled as he toweled himself off. "Plegia's too hot, Ferox is too cold… They should take a page out Ylisse. Perfect weather all the time unless you're further north during winter."

Hanging the towel on a hook in the wall, he threw on his usual attire before heading out of the room that the Eastern Khan of Ferox, Flavia. He was greeted by a familiar knight in white and blue armor the second he left his room.

"Good morning, milord. It bids me well to see that you've risen up so early without my aid."

"Hard to sleep when I'm basically freezing," Chrom said with a mighty yawn.

"Is that the only reason, milord? I believe there is another reason as to why you were able to wake so early into the day."

"Sharp as always, Frederick." Chrom shook his head and stared at the knight. "And what can I say? I'm here in Regna Ferox while Emm and Lissa are on their way to Plegia. What kind of brother would I be if I didn't worry for my sisters when I'm nowhere close enough to help them if they're to fall under danger?"

"Commander Phila is accompanying your siblings on their journey with the finest members of our royal guard. No harm shall befall them," Frederick reasoned.

"For how long Frederick? And against how many?" Chrom crossed his arms. "Six members of the royal guard and six royal pegasus knights won't be able to do anything against an army in the middle of enemy territory." He let out a tired sigh and combed his fingers through his hair. "Perhaps… Perhaps the king's advisor will keep his word about us only being at war later and not now."

"I would advise against trusting the Plegians, milord," Frederick said with venom in his words. "It would be unwise to trust the words of their kind."

"Which is exactly why we were allowed to walk away peacefully, right?" Chrom countered. "We drew first blood against two Plegians, one of them having close ties with their king. We shouldn't have walked out of the desert alive, Frederick. Maybe a little trust is needed right now." Then, under his breath so that Frederick wouldn't hear, he muttered, "It's not like we can do anything else."

Frederick chose to remain silent upon hearing Chrom's words. Taking that as a cue that the conversation was over, Chrom began walking down the hall, following Khan Flavia's directions from the previous night on how to get to her office, if two hours past midnight could still be considered night.

 _'Would that be considered night? Or really early morning?'_ Chrom pondered as he made numerous turns. _'I feel like it'd be night since the sun's not out, but what if it was only a few minutes till first light? Would that be considered dawn or would it still be nighttime?'_

His mind continued to mindlessly question itself as he and Frederick walked through the stone halls. It wasn't overly decorated, which said much about the Feroxi and their simple love for combat above all else, but the halls weren't lacking in decor either.

Red and white banners hung from the walls that were adorned with the insignia of Regna Ferox. There was the occasional coat of arms hanging on the walls and a red carpet was rolled out in the center of each hallway. Two-man patrols regularly passed by the Ylisseans every few corridors. Most of them merely gave Chrom a passing glance while a few only inclined their head ever so slightly. The lack of respect infuriated Frederick, of course, but Chrom commanded the knight to remain quiet.

Finding Flavia's office wasn't too difficult. Chrom had been navigating through the labyrinth that was Ylisse Castle his entire life, and Regna Ferox's castle, if it could even be called one, was nowhere near as complex. The giant claymore that hung above the office door helped too, as well as the two guards that stood outside. No other door had stationed guards.

As Chrom approached, the guards shared a quick glance before one of them knocked on Flavia's door and walked inside. He was back outside only a few seconds later and motioned for Chrom and Frederick to enter without saying a word.

"Morning, Prince Chrom," Flavia said as the guard closed the door behind Frederick. "I hope that your night was spent well?"

Chrom inadvertently shirked back half a step when he saw the khan. More specifically, her desk. And the stacks of papers that were piled up on it.

Paperwork was never his forte. Chrom had no shame in admitting that, but even so, he was able to get through the pile that he found at his desk upon his every return from a patrol. However, the amount of work that he got in a week paled in comparison to the amount that he saw on Flavia's desk.

"Y-Yes," he managed to reply, unable to tear his gaze away from the mountain of papers.

"Good. Now that we've got the pleasantries done with, let's get down to business." Flavia didn't even look up from the sheet of paper in her hand as she addressed Chrom. "I know why you're here. I know about the situation between Ylisse and Plegia. I also know that your army doesn't hold a candle to Plegia's, and the request to you asking Regna Ferox for aid is denied."

"What?! Why?!" Chrom cried out, not having expected to get his request turned down before he could even speak of it. "Without your aid, Ylisse could be destroyed!"

"And that is of no consequence to Regna Ferox, prince," Flavia replied, tossing the paper aside and looking at Chrom. "Our two nations have peace between us, yes, but that doesn't mean that we have anything to gain or lose from Ylisse. For years, you have lived in seclusion without any contact. Plegia, on the other hand, is a valuable ally to us Feroxi, as is the nation of Rosanne across the Karagol Sea."

"Plegia?" Chrom fervently asked.

"Plegia," Flavia repeated with a nod of her head. "They have been one of our trading partners for years now. As I'm sure you've noticed, our land is not exactly a fertile one. There are very few places in Ferox where we can grow food and although we rely on hunts to feed our people, it would not be enough to satiate the entire population.

"This is where Plegia, and by extension, Rosanne, come into play. Rosanne's harvests are bountiful no matter the season and Plegia has a near-infinite source of metals. They give us supplies and food that we of Ferox cannot acquire naturally, and in return, we arm them with the highest quality weapons and medicine.

"I ask of you this, Prince Chrom. Of what benefit is there by allying with Ylisse? What would Regna Ferox get in return if our army is to help you fight against one of our most powerful and trusted allies? What do you have to offer that is at least of equal value to the support that Plegia is giving us?"

Chrom opened his mouth to give Flavia an answer, but no words formed on his tongue. He thought of giving a portion of Ylisse's land as a bargain for Regna Ferox's aid, but Ylisse was already struggling to provide food to its people as is. Giving away land would not only cause the people to starve more than they already were, but it would also draw their ire towards Emmeryn and the royal family once again.

"In any case, I'm not the person you should be speaking to," Flavia said with a tired sigh. "I may be one of the Khans of Ferox, but the power does not lie with me. You'll have to speak with the Western Khan if you wish to try and get the Feroxi's favor. Fortunately for you, I think he's free for the next couple hours."

"A question, if I may." Frederick took a step forward with his brow furrowed just a little more than usual. After receiving a small nod from Flavia, he continued, "I heard talk of an annual tournament that shifts the seat of power from one Khan to the other that is to take place soon."

"I know what you speak of, knight, but the tournament will not help you in any way." Flavia cut off the knight and slung an arm behind her chair. "The preliminaries for the tournament is held next week while your war with Plegia is in two days. Even if we were to somehow make tonight or tomorrow the finals, you still have yet to give a reason as to why Regna Ferox should ally with Ylisse and lose our partnership with Plegia."

Frederick fell silent after that, unable to find a refute to her words.

"Now, we could talk for days and nothing would change except for my growing dislike for politics. Go seek out Basilio. Perhaps he'll be more willing to aid your cause."

"…I see. Thank you for your time, Khan Flavia," Chrom dispiritedly said.

"Don't thank me just yet, boy. I've yet to tell you how to find the oaf, much less what he looks like. Well, not that you'd need much a description to find him. An oaf is an oaf, after all," Flavia huffed before her eyes brightened upon seeing a slender figure walk past her now-open doors. "Oh, perfect timing. Olivia!"

The passerby, who was a pink-haired woman in a sleeveless white blouse and loose pants, let out a small "Eep!" from Flavia's call.

"This group here are travelers from Ylisse, the blue haired one being Prince Chrom himself. Ylisseans, this is Olivia, the treasure of us Feroxi," Flavia introduced with a proud grin, and Olivia's face turned red from the compliment. "She'll be able to guide you the commons. Now, shoo. I got a ton of crap to get done in preparation for the tournament and not enough time. Olivia, I'll leave this to you."

"U-Understood!" Olivia squeaked and then gave a slight bow to Chrom. "Th-This way."

With a single nod, Chrom started to follow Olivia as she walked out of Flavia's office and took an immediate left. He did his best to not stare at the sway in her hips as he walked behind her.

He utterly failed.

 _ **. . .**_

"What do we do now? Nothing is going like it did in the past! Did us coming here change the timeline this much already?" Cynthia cried out as she paced around the room.

"Relax, Cynthia. Naga said that a few, small parts of history might be changed, right?" Inigo said with a weak smile. "We should've expected something like this."

There was a scoff from across the room. "Yeah, like this is a _"_ _few, small parts"_ , right?"

"What's got your panties in a mix, Sev?" Kjelle grunted, taking a large bite out of the cooked rabbit in her hand.

"Hmm, let me think. Maybe it's because we're rooming in a random inn that's in the middle of Plegia? Maybe because we've only managed to find a few of us that traveled to the past? Maybe because Lady Sumia is also here as a prisoner of war before the between Plegia and Ylisse even starts?" Severa sarcastically replied, her voice slowly rising. "Or because my idiot of a mother flew back into Plegia by herself and hasn't left the castle yet? Or maybe because Uncle Robin, Tharja, and Henry are all siding with Plegia and not with the Shepherds! Geez, I don't know, Kjelle! What do you think?!"

"The hell's your problem? All I did was ask a single question!" Kjelle heatedly shot back.

"That enough." A feminine voice silenced the two immediately as a figure stepped into the room. "Your voices could attract unwanted visitors. We're lucky that most of the other visitors are currently out. It'd be in our best interest to not get forced out of the inn. We're already drawing more attention that I'd like, especially because the Plegian Army don't recognize Minerva as one of theirs. We have Naga to thank for us not getting questioned about her and Gerome."

Kjelle clicked her tongue and resumed tearing into her food. "Tch, some Risen would be nice about now. Haven't been able to get a good workout in days."

"Watch your words, Kjelle. If the Risen are here, then that would mean that Grima would've followed us."

"Alright, alright, I got it," Kjelle irritably huffed. "My bad, Lucina."

Severa threw a glance over their leader. "What now, Luce? Word is that Plegia and Ylisse are going to war in three days, and that was announced yesterday at noon. What's worse is that your dad and Uncle Robin are on opposing sides when they should be fighting together against Gangrel."

"Yeeaaahh, about that…" Inigo spoke up as he scratched his cheek. "Gangrel is nothing like the evil king that we were told when we were kids. I mean, we saw him yesterday, right? He was like a mix of Uncle Robin and Henry with a tiny bit of Gaius and Gregor thrown in. And everyone in Plegia loves the guy."

Lucina leaned against a wall and said nothing. Her mind was swimming with thoughts and what choices she could make at this point but was unable to foresee the end result of her possible actions. She scrapped those potential ideas immediately. Plans that ended halfway were, in a way, worse than no plan at all.

"Umm, Lucina?" Cynthia sheepishly twiddled her thumbs, causing Lucina's brow to furrow. Rarely would the spritely girl ever act in such a reserved manner. "Are…Are we going to side with the Shepherds in the war? With Ylisse?"

She nodded. "That would most likely be the best course of action."

Cynthia visibly deflated and sat onto her bed. "O-Oh…"

"What's wrong with siding with - " Inigo froze mid-sentence and his mouth formed a perfect circle. "Oooohhh, I see…"

Lucina didn't see.

"Yeah…even if push came to shove…even if we were on the battlefield…" Cynthia took in a deep breath. "I don't know if I could do it."

"Do what?" Kjelle asked in confusion. "The hell are you going on about?"

It clicked. The realization was so sudden and so obvious that Lucina mentally berated herself for not having thought about it any sooner.

"Well, Plegia and Ylisse are going to war soon, right? And we're going to ally ourselves with Ylisse, though not directly?" Inigo started to explain the situation and Kjelle nodded. "If we're with Ylisse, then we fight against Plegia…"

"Get to the point already, Inigo," Kjelle cut in, her patience wearing thin.

"Gods, how can you not see it already?" Severa said in annoyance. "We're fighting Plegia, and guess who's going to be on Plegia's side?"

"Didn't we go over this already? There's Henry, Tharja, and…oh." Kjelle trailed off as her eyes widened. She slowly turned her head and looked at Cynthia, who wore a pained smile on her face.

"I don't think I'll be able to fight my dad."

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Some of you early, EARLY readers/followers might vaguely remember that the story summary had something about Plegia's Strategist not really having any pairings. Then you same readers/followers might also vaguely remember that said 'something' vanished from said summary not a month later.**

 **And now, here we are, some year and one month later with an official pairing. Technically two. And to be fair, I never really lied since I never fully said that there** _ **wouldn't**_ **be any pairings, just that there wouldn't really be any pairings. It's the small details in the words and how they're said that can change the meaning of a line (granted, the tone of my voice can't be put into text, but you get the picture).**

 **On the other side of the coin, bringing in the Future Children was not originally planned. That bit was thought out…a day or two ago? I think? Something like that. It was an impromptu thing.**

 **And due to my foolish impromptu-ness, now I'm stuck with having to come up with an impromptu continuation/ending(s) that incorporates the impromptu Future Children into what was originally an impromptu story idea in order to deal with my own impromptu-ness.**


	6. Of Different Times

**Some of you have mentioned the fact that Freddie is a lot more…overbearing in this fic than his in-game counterpart. And to that, I have to say** **…**

 **You are absolutely right. And there is a reason for it, and it is not a "generic" reasoning like "Plegians-killed-my-parents-in-the-war-so-now-I'm-mad" sort of deal. It's a bit more intricate than that.**

 **In any case, here's Chapter 6.**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

A shiver ran down Robin's spine as he stepped out of the portal and into a torch-lit room. The stone walls were bare save for the single emblem of Ferox above the only door in the room and a red carpet was laid out from the door to the stone arch behind Robin. Without another thought, he snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared in his open hand.

"Why's it always so cold here…" Robin muttered.

Vasto fought down a dry heave as he straightened his posture. "It's Ferox. It's a nation mostly covered by snow."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Rhetorical question, Vasto."

"Bah! You desert folk are too soft. This temperature is perfect for anything and everything!" A large man heartily laughed from the other side of the room. His chocolate colored head gleamed in the firelight and he wore an eyepatch over his left eye. He was dressed in a navy blue coat with a white fur lining.

"You say that yet you're dressed in heavier clothing than I, Basilio," Robin grinned, walking over and shaking the man's hand.

"Don't blame me if you came unprepared, boy," Basilio scoffed and opened the door to leave the room. "Come along now. That flamboyant duke is already here."

Robin followed the khan out of the room and followed him down the hall. A few minutes later, they arrived at a large door with a small banner of Ferox hanging at the top. He came here enough times to know that this essentially their designated lounge room.

The moment Robin entered the room, he saw a flash of steel coming towards his neck. He immediately bent his body backward to avoid getting beheaded, causing his little flame to disperse into nothing. With his body still arched, his placed one hand on the floor and pushed off with both his arm and legs to move his body aside as a sword sliced the ground that he was standing upon not a second ago.

He drew his sword before his feet even touched the ground. Once he was firmly grounded, he swung his sword in an arc and there was the resounding sound of metal clashing against metal. His attacker then pushed Robin's blade aside and Robin immediately lashed out with his leg, managing to kick his attacker in the ribs.

If Robin did any damage, he didn't know. There was no grimace - no grunt of pain from the man in front of him and Robin found a sharp piece of metal resting against his neck.

Robin slowly raised his arms. "Yield."

The man smirked and sheathed his sword in a fluid motion. "You've gotten better. You beat your record by a fraction of a second."

Robin rolled his eyes. "Against you, I'll take that as a huge victory. And stop coming at me out of nowhere. I swear I'm going to die of a heart attack instead of your blade one day."

"I'm keeping you on your toes."

"What need do I have to be on guard at a friendly nation?" Robin snarked. "You just enjoy beating me, don't you, Lon'qu?"

Lon'qu simply smirked and shook Robin's hand.

"If you two are done, we have things to do," Basilio grunted. The man was already seated in his personal chair, which was made to his size and had a bear's skin draped over the seat.

"Now now, Khan Basilio, it is just their way of greeting each other," Virion said. He was sitting on a red leather chair with a glass of wine in his hand. "If I had such intimacy with a fine lady as those two have for one another, then I would - "

A woman with rose-colored hair cleared her throat and cut Virion off. She leaned forward by a fraction and placed a hand on the duke's shoulder. The smile that she gave Virion lowered the temperature in the room by a few degrees, despite the blazing fireplace.

"If I may, what is it that you are insinuating, Lord Virion?"

"N-Nothing, my dear Cherche," Virion replied with a shaky voice.

Cherche turned her head towards Robin and her smile changed from one that would send chills down people's spines to one that would warm one's heart.

"It is good to see you again, Robin," she said.

"Lady Cherche." Robin gave her a light bow. "You are lovely as always."

"Why, thank you, Lord Robin," Cherche giggled. "That is high praise coming from one such as you."

Robin took a seat into a comfortable leather chair while Vasto, Cherche, and Lon'qu each moved to stand behind their respective wards.

"Bah, none of that!" Basilio scoffed at the three retainers. "The three of you are too stiff! Let's not make this any more politic-like than it should be. Come, sit, grab a drink!"

He motioned over at the small table in the center of the three nations' representatives where multiple bottles of various alcohols were placed. There was also a kettle that filled with hot water and a small jar of brown beans.

"I must agree with our khan," Virion nodded. "We may be here on a formal visit, but we are all friends, are we not? Let us toss aside our titles for now and enjoy ourselves whilst speaking. Two birds with one stone, as they say."

Robin waved his hand and three chairs floated from the corner of the room. Simple in design, yet comfortable enough, the chairs landed beside the standing retainers. Once the chairs were grounded, he reached over to the jar of beans, took off the lid, and released a continuous flurry of wind blades inside the jar.

As the beans were being ground into a fine powder, Lon'qu tossed an accusing stare at Robin. "You didn't use your spells against me earlier."

"It's not that I didn't; it's that I _couldn't_." Robin shrugged and stopped his magic. "I'm not sure if you know this, Lon'qu, but you're a gods-damned demon with the blade. In the time that I'd be able to ready even the fastest of my spells, you'd have your sword at my neck."

Seemingly satisfied with Robin's answer, Lon'qu leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms, opting to not take a drink. Cherche and Vasto, on the other hand, took up Basilio's offer and filled a glass with white wine and Ferox's famed fire-whiskey respectively.

"Now then, to business." Basilio leaned forward and laced his fingers together. "Virion, how fares the war against the conqueror?"

"Much better than I originally expected. Your warriors live up to their reputation and the spellcasters from Plegia has bolstered our army's morale," Virion gratefully replied. "Our show of resistance has brought us more allies from the nations of Chon'sin and Weyard. We now have a fighting chance in what we originally thought to be a futile resistance."

"You managed to rally Chon'sin and Weyard under your banner?" Robin raised an eyebrow, picking up his recently brewed cup of coffee. "That is quite a surprise. Both nations are known to prefer peace over violence, especially Weyard. They're rumored to be one of the most secretive nations in the world."

"It was quite the surprise to us as well, I assure you," Virion said. "Lady Aversa has proven herself to be quite the speaker, and I am told that Chon'sin had a form of treaty with Valm, one that was broken when the conqueror's army razed Chon'sin's border towns."

"And Weyard?"

"Oh, the warriors of Weyard are, without a doubt, the reason why we've been able to push back the conqueror's army," Virion proudly exclaimed. When Basilio made a disgruntled noise, he quickly added, "No offense, of course, my Khan.

"Weyard's warriors call themselves 'Adepts', and never before have I seen such ferocity and magnificence in fighting. They must be blessed by their own deities, for I've seen a group of them band together and a goddess appeared in the sky to rain down arrows from the heavens. I've also witnessed them take control of the elements themselves and call down storms of purple lightning and slags of ice, heave the earth with quakes, cause geysers of molten lava to erupt from the ground, and - "

"Ahem!" Cherche cleared her throat again and threw Virion another pointed look.

"Forgive me, my excitement seems to have gotten the better of me," Virion sheepishly said. "Nevertheless, I assure you that the situation in Valm is currently under control. At least, for now."

"That is good to hear, my friend. I would very much like to meet these Adepts," Robin said.

"I'm sure you would have much to learn from them as they would learn from you," Virion returned. "How goes the situation on your ends? I did not think you to be the one to instigate a war."

Basilio grunted in agreement. "Aye. Your letter didn't explain horse-dung. You're the type to think things out a lot better and avoid a confrontation at all costs, so get to explaining."

With a deep sigh and another sip of his coffee, Robin recalled the events from yesterday. He told them of his original plan to sneak into Ylisse to seek an audience with Exalt Emmeryn, of how Vasto's night patrol found Sumia and how Robin immediately incorporated her into his revised plan, to the arrival of the Ylisseans, and ended with him giving the Ylisseans a warning of the imminent war.

"Well, damn… I'm surprised that you let them off so easy," Basilio grunted. "If that happened in Ferox, they'd have been turned into Ylissean-shaped weapon racks, arrows and javelins included. If their nation gets pissy from that, then I'd welcome them to meet some of my men and myself on the field."

"My dear Khan Basilio, this merely goes to show what sort of heart Robin has," Virion gracefully said. "While it pains me to admit it, his heart is bigger than my own, and I am the one who has the heartiest of hearts! Though I suppose that title now belongs to Plegia's Lord Strategist."

"That heart of his is going to get him killed one day," Basilio countered. "He already got shot by an arrow! And don't even get me started on the number of times that my men had to guard his sorry ass from an assassination attempt because he felt like walking through the Ferox's streets to befriend the people!"

"Glad to know you care," Robin said in a deadpan voice.

Cherche's eyes flashed as she glared at Robin. "What's this about assassination attempts?"

"Nothing - " Robin quickly started to answer when Vasto cut him off.

"Robin visits Regna Ferox often. During his visits, he frequents the main streets and wanders around aimlessly. Since he's a person of high rank in Plegia, his enemies, both political and non-political, have sent assassins to kill him in the busy streets to instigate a useless war between Plegia and Ferox."

Robin glared at Vasto while mouthing the word, _"Traitor."_ Vasto just smirked back.

"My word, Robin." Virion pitifully shook his head. "You should know better than to keep this information from Cherche. I believe everyone in this room knows how…" He paused as he searched for a word that would not draw Cherche's ire upon him. "… _caring_ she can be."

A cold bead of sweat rolled down Robin's back as he faced the unnerving glare of the usually-homey woman.

"In my defense, I was never truly under danger," Robin slowly began in an attempt to ease the psychological pressure weighing down on him. "I was always followed by some of Basilio and Flavia's best men, and I usually had Vasto and-or Henry beside me."

Her chilling smile only got icier.

"Cherche, I swear that I did not mean to keep this from you," he hurriedly said. "It was just that there were, in regards to my nation, much more pressing matters. For instance, the upcoming war with Ylisse, which now brings me to the reason as to why I called for this meeting." He forced himself to look away from Cherche and to Basilio, who had an extremely smug look on his face. Prick. "I have no doubt that Ylisse will send an envoy here to request for your aid in the war. My own request is that - "

There was a knock from the other side of the door, interrupting Robin mid-sentence.

"U-Umm…Khan Basilio? I-It's Olivia."

Judging from the confused look on Basilio's face, Robin safely assumed that he didn't call for her.

"Come in," Basilio said, smoothening his features out.

The door to their lounge open and a familiar dancer with pink hair shuffled in with her head down.

"What brings you here?" Basilio asked.

"Khan Flavia wanted - er, requested that I guide our guests here," Olivia answered as she continued to stare at her feet. "I-I'm sorry that it was on such short notice."

"Guests?" Robin raised an eyebrow. He had an inkling as to who they could be but hoped that he was wrong. If his guess turned out to be correct, then things would get a little more complicated than he'd like it to be.

Olivia's head snapped up at Robin's voice. Her eyes widened when she noticed the others in the room.

"Oh! Lords Virion and Robin!" Olivia hastily bowed towards the two. "I'm so sorry I didn't notice you before!"

There was a strange feeling of deja vu and Robin frowned. He felt as if this was the third time that someone had to do a double take to notice him but couldn't recall any occasion of sorts in recent memory. Maybe it was a fragment - a remnant from his past? Regardless, he tossed that feeling into the depths of his mind to focus at the task at hand, which was to end the looming war with Ylisse without a pyrrhic victory.

"That is quite alright, dear Olivia," Virion smiled. "Now then, who are these guests that you speak of?"

"Er - well…" Olivia began to fidget with her fingers. "I-It's P-Prince Chrom of Ylisse, milords."

Robin pursed his lips as his guess became a confirmation, though it still came as a small surprise to him. He figured that the Ylissean Prince would be too busy trying to rally what remained of their army from the previous war. They were in shambles, after all, and were in no condition to fight a large battle.

 _'Perhaps the prince is smarter than I gave him credit for,'_ Robin mused. _'Knowing full well that Ylisse alone cannot win against Plegia, he comes to Regna Ferox for aid and allies. In person, no less.'_

Basilio looked displeased at the news but grunted nonetheless. "Bring him in."

With a hasty bow, Olivia left the room and returned a few seconds later with Prince Chrom and the blue-armored knight, Frederick, in tow. Robin mentally prepared himself for the baseless accusations that that knight would most likely throw at him.

"Khan Basilio." Chrom greeted the large man with a bow. "I am Prince Chrom of Ylisse."

"I know who you are, boy," Basilio bluntly said. "What I want to know why you're here."

"There is a war on the horizon between Ylisse and our neighbor nation, Plegia, and I - Ylisse is in need of aid," Chrom answered. To his credit, he didn't seem the least bit fazed from Basilio's brusque greeting.

"I don't need to know the extra, useless tidbits, prince. What I want to know is the root, the source, of the problem at hand." Basilio took a swig of ale before continuing, "The way I see it, if you cannot tell me why exactly _you're_ here, then I will not listen to you. I have no time to listen to the words of one too prideful to admit his shortcomings."

"A warrior nation that talks of not having too much pride? Now I have seen and heard everything," Robin grinned.

Basilio shot a glare at Robin. "There are times when one must swallow their pride and I am not above that. Pride is only a detriment when you cannot do so."

"Wisdom expected from one in a seat of power," Virion nodded in agreement. "Even I put my pride aside at times when the occasion calls for it."

"For some reason, I find that a little difficult to believe," Robin said, giving Cherche a questioning look.

"As much as it pains me to admit it, my lord speaks the truth," Cherche sighed.

Ignoring a cry of mock pain from Virion, Robin turned his head to look at Chrom. "Pleasure seeing you again, Prince Chrom. Have you been well?"

"Lord Strategist." Prince Chrom politely returned the greeting. "I did not think I'd see you so soon."

"And to you. Did you know that one of your pegasus knights returned to Plegia not long after our meeting?"

The two Ylisseans stiffened.

"I swear, Plegian, if any harm fell upon her - "

"She is quite safe, I assure you," Robin interrupted the knight, restraining himself from rolling his eyes. He was growing tired of the knight's unwarranted hostility. "Last I checked, both she and Sumia were catching up on lost time in one of our guest rooms. Did you know that Sumia prefers fruity teas over the other blends? Specifically peach? In fact, she's taken a liking to a certain mix that a friend of hers happened to introduce to her; it's tea that's spiced with crowberry extract and a bit of mustard."

"N-No, I didn't," Chrom replied, confusion etched into his voice and brow.

"Did you know that Cordelia actually doesn't like tea but will still drink it if offered to not be rude? She'd prefer to have coffee with a bit of cream and sugar. Having it while reading a book is one of her favorite things to do in her downtime."

"What does this have to do with anything?" Chrom asked.

A frown appeared on Robin's face. "Nothing, prince. Now, I do believe Khan Basilio's question was left unanswered and is waiting for a response."

"That I am," Basilio agreed. "I ask you again, what do you want?"

"I - "

"Before you answer me, keep this in mind. I am not asking Prince Chrom what he wants. I am not asking the prince of a nation. I am not asking the envoy of Ylisse to say what he was told to say. I am asking what _you_ , specifically, want."

There was another knock on the door and Olivia poked her head inside the room. "Khan Basilio? F-Flavia wishes to see you."

"Again?" Basilio clicked his tongue and rose from his seat. "Prince, think on your answer until I come back. If you need help, talk with Robin and Virion. Do not underestimate having a second or third perspective."

It wasn't until after Basilio closed the door behind him that Robin spoke. "What about you, Prince Chrom? Are you a tea or a coffee person? Personally, I prefer the latter; it has that little extra punch you need to jumpstart your day with a delightful taste. If made poorly, it can have the same effect, if only due to the horrid assault on your tastebuds."

Vasto stifled a laugh as a certain pink-haired maid appeared in both of their heads while Chrom looked a little surprised at the question.

"I never tried coffee, so I suppose my answer would be tea," he replied.

"Never tried?" Robin frowned. "Well, the next time the opportunity presents itself, I highly recommend trying a cup. From someone who knows how to brew, of course. If you do not know what you're doing when brewing coffee, chances are that you'll end up with a variant of liquid mud."

"I…see… I'll be sure to try it sometime."

With a smile, Robin stood to his feet. "With the right cup, I assure you that you will not be disappointed. Now, if you don't mind, I shall leave the room for a short while as you think on Khan Basilio's question. It is obvious that my company is not welcome by a member in this room."

Pointed glares were thrown at Frederick, who at least had the decency to look a little ashamed.

"Do enjoy your talk with the Duke of Rosanne, Prince Chrom," Robin said as he opened the door. "Duke Virion can be quite the enlightening individual, so I am sure you'll find the answer in which you seek. I shall return shortly."

Then Robin and Vasto left the room, closing the door behind them.

 _ **. . .**_

Orton was a man of many things. He was a husband to a wonderful woman and a father to a brilliant girl of seven years. A survivor of the previous war, the War of Sand. The Knight-Captain and ex-leader of the Darkwings (the newly appointed leader being Vasto, who took the title begrudgingly), and was now the leader of the Kingsguard.

And as a member of the king's personal guard, he simply watched as his ward was tackled to the ground by two blurs in the evening sun.

"Gufuh!" A strangled cough escaped Gangrel's throat as the air left his lungs upon landing on the town square's floor. "Get off me!"

"It's our win, King Gangrel!" one of his assaulters yelled.

"Kingsguard, assist!" Gangrel ordered, struggling to escape the clutches of the two attackers. When Orton held up a hand to signal the rest of the Kingsguard to stand down, Gangrel looked at him in horror. "You would betray me, my friend?!"

"Apologies, King Gangrel, but I can never betray you if I was never on your side," Orton grinned.

Gangrel's eyes widened in horror as the words sank in. "Y-You mean - "

"Indeed! You were expecting someone else, but it was me, Orton!"

Orton spread his arms out for a bit of dramatic effect. All around him, the Plegians gasped in horror and shock as the twist revealed itself.

And then a sudden gust of wind appeared at his feet and threw him to the floor. A few of the Kingsguard stifled a laugh upon seeing their leader faceplant into the ground, and some of the people in the crowd burst into laughter.

"Stop bullying the poor king, would you?" Robin said as he made his way through the crowd. Right behind him were Vasto and Cherche, both of whom looked to be enjoying the scene in front of them.

"Robin!" Gangrel's face lit up upon seeing his advisor. "You've come to rescue - "

"At least give me the credit that's due, Orton," Robin continued with a grin, blatantly ignoring Gangrel's look of anguish. "It was me who went out and talked to young Yang and Ruby. I'm also the one that managed to convince their parents to let them tackle the king."

"Et tu, Robin?!" Gangrel choked out, his voice laden with despair.

With a slight groan, Orton stood to his feet and lightheartedly glared at Robin. "Fine fine, oh esteemed strategist."

"That's better," Robin chuckled and turned to the king's assaulters. "Many thanks for your assistance, Yang, Ruby."

"No problem!" "You're welcome!"

With their short act of fun finished, the two young girls pushed themselves off of Gangrel and flashed Robin a toothy grin. Their tiny frames vanished almost immediately upon entering the gathered crowd, and seeing how the impromptu show was over, the people began to go back to their lives. Once most of the crowd dispersed, Robin raised an eyebrow at Gangrel.

"So, mind telling me why you were strolling about the streets when there's a war on the horizon?" he asked.

Gangrel was uncharacteristically silent as he dusted himself off. As he was patting his rear of dirt, he replied, "It's _because_ there's a war on the horizon that I'm down here - here with the people. It's to show that that, even in a time of war, the king is with them."

"That's…huh. That's actually a pretty good reason," Robin admitted. He turned a corner onto the main road and continued walking.

"I know. Another rare moment of Serious-King Gangrel shall be etched in history," Orton agreed. "It's the only reason why I let him leave the castle, though not without an armed guard."

"I can see that. Five members of the Kingsguard accompanied by the ex-Knight-Captain himself?" Robin whistled. "One would say that it's a little overkill in a nation such as ours."

"The same can't really be said for you, however. Yes, we're on friendly terms with Ferox, but even so… Leaving with a single guard towards a bordering nation for a simple catch-up yet you return with two guards?" Orton exasperatedly shook his head. "One being the Duke of Rosanne's vassal, no less." He politely bowed to Cherche. "No disrespect, of course."

Cherche gently laughed. "None taken. I actually offered to come here."

"It's not like I had a choice in my case," Robin said. "After my original guard betrayed me by letting everyone know about the rare and obviously unsuccessful attempts on my life in Ferox…" He threw an accusing glare over at Vasto. "…it was unanimously decided that - oof!"

A surprised grunt was released as a brown-haired girl suddenly barrelled into Robin. Orton was hoping that the strategist would get knocked over, but there was a very certain reason that he never went gambling or made any bets. His mental thought proved itself right as Robin remained on his feet.

"I'm so sorry!" the girl hastily apologized. "I wasn't looking where I was going and I - I…"

The girl froze the moment she took a look at Robin's face. Her body stiffened like a board and a mixture of emotions could be seen in her eyes: familiarity, recognition…and sorrow.

"Are you alright?" Robin asked. Then he noticed her expression. "…Is something wrong?" When the girl didn't reply, Robin looked at Orton and the others with a perplexed look. "…Help?"

Orton, Vasto, and Gangrel shared a quick glance with each other and came to a silent agreement: none of them knew what to do in this situation. Sure, Gangrel was good with kids and Orton was raising a daughter of his own, but none of them ever dealt with any form of breakdown. Vasto, and by extension, the other Kingsguard, had absolutely zero experience with both. So, they all turned to Cherche.

"Boys," she sighed.

Cherche shook her head in exasperation and stepped forward. She stood next to Robin and smiled warmly at the girl. However, she never got the chance to say anything as another girl, one with flowing blue hair, ran up to the group in a hurry. As eyes turned to the newest arrival, no one saw the first girl choke up at the sight of the Duke of Rosanne's vassal.

"Cynthia! How many times do I have to tell you not to run - " The girl froze when she saw the people she was standing in front of. Just like the first girl, the blue-haired girl had a flurry of emotions run through her eyes.

" _"Cynthia"_? Is that your name?" Robin looked down at the girl that bumped into him. She gave him a hesitant nod as a reply. "It's a nice name, based on the ancient Mount Cynthos on the lost island of Delos. It was there that the twin god and goddess of the sun and moon respectively were born, but that is neither here nor there."

The brown-haired girl, Cynthia, only nodded as her companion took a small step forward.

"I apologize for any trouble that my companion may have caused," the blue-haired girl said.

"No harm done," Robin said with a wave of his hand. "Have a pleasant day, you two, and do be careful in the future," he added with a smile.

"Thank you, Un - Lord Robin," the blue-haired girl said with a bow.

After giving bowing once more to Gangrel, the two girls ran off and quickly vanished into the capital's busy streets. Robin, on the other hand, kept his gaze locked in the direction that the girls ran towards. Orton was about to make a witty comment about the two girls but quickly discarded the thought when he noticed Robin's eyes.

"Something wrong, Robin?" Cherche asked before Orton could.

The strategist was silent for a brief moment before replying, "Those girls… They looked familiar."

"Now that you mention it…" Orton nodded in agreement. "Did you also notice the way that they looked at you? They knew who you were, and I'm not talking about your fame and title. They _know you_."

"…Yeah, that's the feeling I got as well," Robin said with a frown marring his face. "I've never seen them before in my life, but there was something about them that… And the blue-haired one… Did you see her sword? And then there was something about her left eye that was…strange."

Orton shook his head. "Didn't pay attention to her sword and wasn't close enough to inspect her eyes. Why do you ask?"

Robin was silent again. "…Nothing. Let's head back to the castle, shall we? There's a lot of things we need to take care of, starting with what happened in Ferox earlier."

 _'Clearly it isn't "nothing" if it had you of all people think on it,'_ Orton thought to himself. Nevertheless, he followed Robin with the king, the Kingsguard, and Rosanne's vassal behind him.

 _ **. . .**_

Ten minutes. While in hindsight, ten minutes may not seem that long, for it truly is a very short span of time, those same ten minutes can very easily seem like an eternity in certain circumstances. For example, if one simply does nothing but count a full six-hundred seconds, then every minute that passes will most likely seem a lot longer than it should. The same can be said when waiting for someone or something.

In this case, the aforementioned ten minutes felt like a whole hour for two girls as they walked through Plegia's streets. It wasn't until they neared their destination that one of the girls veered off, dragging the second girl with her into a narrow space between two buildings.

"What were you thinking, Cynthia? You know how important our mission is, so why would you run off like that?"

Cynthia couldn't bring herself to look Lucina in the eyes. "I - I know I messed up, Luce. But I heard that he was in the area, so I thought that I'd get to just see him, you know? I never thought that I'd actually run into him!"

"But you did. Quite literally, in fact." Lucina took in a deep breath and sighed. "I know how it feels to want to see your father again, Cynthia, I truly do. But - "

"So you understand why I did it!" Cynthia interrupted. "I haven't seen him in so long, Lucina. My dad was the first to d- " Her voice wavered and changed her choice of words. " - to go, remember? It wasn't until your dad led an expedition back to Plegia that everyone else started to…"

Her voice trailed off as the memories resurfaced. She was a young girl back then, younger by over a decade, but she still remembered that day; the day that her father departed from Ylisse to find a cure for the plague that was spreading across the land, only to never return. Almost a year later, there was a resurgence of Grimleal launched a sudden and devastating attack on Ylisse's borders, and Exalt Chrom led an assault against Plegia for the second time.

The counterattack went smoothly, all things considered. _Too_ smoothly. By the time that the Shepherds and the Ylissean Army realized that it was a trap, they were in the heart of Plegia Castle, and they managed to force a retreat back to Ylisse's borders. But not without their Exalt.

She still remembered her mother's words of how the exalt was killed by _"a dear friend"_. Those words remained a mystery to all but the Shepherds that witnessed the exalt's death firsthand, and it was a secret that they all took to the grave when Grima was resurrected a month later.

Lucina deeply exhaled in the midst of Cynthia's recollection, effectively bringing her out of it. Her eyes were closed and there was a faint crease in her brow, and Cynthia recognized it as her _I'm-thinking-right-now-so-don't-talk-to-me-less-you-provoke-my-ire_ face, and she wisely chose to heed the silent message.

"…Alright, I'll let it slide, Cynthia," Lucina finally said. "Just try not to bump into him again. We still have the looming war to deal with. The timelines are much different, but that still does not change the fact that we could suffer from severe losses in the Shepherds should the war come to pass."

"Well, why not try and see if we _can_ bump into one of the Shepherds again?" Cynthia asked. "I mean, it's not like we can really make the timelines worse any more than they are now, right?"

"That's…actually a solid idea…" Lucina muttered. "We could try and get an audience with the king or Uncle Robin, preferably Uncle Robin, and warn him of Grima's threat."

"Wait no, Luce, I was joking," Cynthia hastily said, but her words fell on deaf ears.

"And if Uncle Robin was raised in Plegia his entire life, then he most definitely knows about the Fell Dragon. If he has a similar personality as he did in our time, which he does, given from what the people say of him, then he would most likely want to save the world rather than let it fall to ruin."

Cynthia sighed as she figured that there would be nothing short of a Risen attack to get Lucina out of her thoughts.

"Just as long as you don't slip up and almost call him "Uncle" in his face," Cynthia offhandedly said.

To her surprise, that line managed to throw Lucina out of her musings and the faintest hints of pink appeared on her cheeks.

"I - I did not slip up!"

Cynthia opted to remain silent and thought back to her encounter with her father just ten minutes prior. He looked almost the same as he did in her memories as the only difference was how old he looked, and even then, it wasn't _that_ different. Her father was relatively young when he first married and had the genetics to "age well".

But right now, she wasn't really thinking about her father. While yes, seeing him was definitely something that she wished for and was quite literally a dream come true, she never thought that she'd see _her_ so soon. In Plegia, no less.

If Cynthia had no wish to fight against Plegia before, now she most definitely didn't want to. The possibility of fighting Henry, Tharja, and her father weighed heavily on her. There was also the fact that her mother was still being held as a prisoner of war, but Cynthia trusted her father enough to treat her mother right. But as if that wasn't enough, if having to stand against her parents on the battlefield wasn't enough, it was as if fate had decided to just put that cherry on top of the cake. Just one last, little wrench thrown in to make things just that much more difficult.

"Of course our mission wouldn't be that easy, right? I mean, what kind of heroes would we be if we couldn't overcome some difficult choices?" Cynthia muttered under her breath. "I know I can't blame Lady Naga, but this really isn't just a _"few, small parts"_."

The plague that afflicted the world in the future had taken many lives. Poor or rich, young or old, weak or strong, it didn't discriminate as it claimed countless lives. Her mother, Sumia, was no exception, and even though she held out for much longer than the average person, she succumbed to the plague in the end. Her death was what caused her father to further his search for a cure before finally departing from Ylisse.

But, in the time span of her mother's death and her father's departure, over two years had passed since. And in those two years, Cynthia found herself to be the older sister of two siblings. However, despite the fact that she wasn't fully related to them due to them being half-siblings, it did not stop Cynthia from loving them any less. The same could also be said for her and her new step-mother, whom she loved dearly.

And while she was no Sumia, Cherche was just as loving and caring as her, and Cynthia saw her as a mother just the same.

For all of Cynthia's parents to be alive and well in Plegia while most of the Shepherds were with Ylisse, Cynthia was stuck at a crossroad. But then again…

…Fate was known to truly be a fickle mistress.

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 ** _. . ._ **

**I'm finally starting to get this massive jumble of ideas into something resembling a cohesive mess. Yaaaaayyy…(deadpan). There was even a bit of a scene with Validar pulling some crap behind the scenes (pun intended), but I couldn't find a way to fit that in this chapter. Oh well, next time.**

 **And I kinda screwed myself over with the previous chapter and by bringing in the Future Children, and further screwed myself over by having them come from the canon timeline. Now I'm stuck with having to do my best to not mess up and send this story down the drain. But since I'm already walking down this potentially shit-show of a road, I decided to add in a little more non-canon things into the story, effectively making the canon timeline no longer canon.**

 **Pretty sure most, if not all, of you know how the original events of** _ **Awakening**_ **go. I decided to spice things up and add in a plague that happened sometime between the Valmese War and the Grimleal/Second Plegian War.**

 **Oh, I also threw in an easter egg from** _ **RWBY**_ **,** _ **Golden Sun**_ **(still clinging onto that last thread of hope for a GS rep to be in Smash Ultimate), and from my other fic,** _**A Shepherd's Rest**_ **. Specifically, a sorta subtle nudge of** _ **Shepherd's**_ **5th chapter, _'_** _ ** _Rul_ e of Three'**_ **. || Shameless non-profit self-advertising here ||**


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